What I have tried to do every time we've had a major bill, I'll be honest, is to use the leverage I get as chairman because there are things that everybody needs to put in for the poor people, to put in something for the people who don't otherwise get a fair shake.
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During twelve years of Republican rule no reform was adopted regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2007, a few months after I became the Chairman, the House passed a strong reform bill.

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"Obviously, [responding to the mortgage crisis] requires a joint effort. To some extent, this is a test of our ability as a self-governing people to govern. Because if everybody helf off and said I am only going to support a bill with which I am in complete agreement, we would not be able effectively to respond to this crisis."[HOUSING AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 23, 2008)]
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"Why do I want to protect their right to screw my state?" (This Political Maneuvering Welcome, by Mike Moran, Fall River Herald-News, June 19, 2008.)
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"Since becoming Financial Services' chairman last year, Frank has surprised many with his appetite for bipartisan compromise." (Frank, Known As Irascible and Liberal, Reaches Our to Republicans on Housing Rescue (excerpts), by Julie Hirschfeld Davis, AP, May 7, 2008)
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Asking the White House to support more government intervention was "like asking me to judge the Miss America contest — if your heart's
not in it, you don't do a very good job." (May 13, 2008; New York Times)
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May, 2008

Dear Friends:

Political life has an enormous number of benefits. One of the things I most dislike is to hear my colleagues complain about the terrible burdens under which we labor, and give the impression that they are doing the world an enormous favor by holding onto their jobs. In fact, in the majority of instances the facts are exactly the opposite: we want very much to keep our jobs and are prepared to impose on relatives, friends, random passers-by and others in an effort to do so.

But there is one downside. Precisely because we are in a position where we are allowed – even expected – to solicit people for favors, money, kind words etc., we can come to think of this as the normal form of human interaction. In particular, there is a very real possibility that we can transform ourselves into one of the most unpleasant of characters: an acquaintance from whom you hear only when he or she needs something.

So I am writing this to you simply to stay in touch, and it includes no request whatsoever for money, praise, moral support or anything else. It is simply a letter to people who have been extremely good friends and who have made the career that I continue to enjoy possible.

"The free market system is the foundation of our prosperity, but as we confront the damaging consequences of irresponsible mortgage lending, all but a few of zealots now understand that enforcement of standards of honesty, openness, and responsibility is necessary to prevent the sort of abuses that have brought us to the present crisis." (Excerpt from Frank's response to the President's radio address, 01/19/08)
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The war in Iraq has been, in my judgment, the greatest national security disaster in America history. (Statement by Rep. Frank from House of Representatives debate on February 16, 2008.)
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“Our vote [on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act] followed an impassioned plea for support from my colleague and chairman, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. Since coming to Congress, I can’t remember being so personally moved by a member’s remarks on the House floor. And I was not alone. While Barney is renowned for his quick wit, humor and incisive intellectual arguments, he disarmed his opponents that night with pure emotion.” (Congresswoman Melissa Bean (D-IL), November 20, 2007 op-ed in Chicago Tribune).
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