HONORING BARNEY FRANK

On 2026-05-21, Representative Al Green (D-TX-9) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING BARNEY FRANK" in the House.

HONORING BARNEY FRANK

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 87 (Thursday, May 21, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 87 (Thursday, May 21, 2026)] [House] [Page H3682] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING BARNEY FRANK (Mr. Green of Texas was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise, a proud, unbought, unbossed, liberated Democrat. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, with a heavy heart. I rise as an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. I rise today to say just a few words about a member of that community who has gone on to glory. I rise to recognize the greatness and the brilliance of the honorable Barney Frank, the first person as a Member of Congress to voluntarily announce that he was a gay person. I rise to honor him and his brilliance because I had the preeminent experience of sitting right in front of him for a good deal of time on the House Financial Services Committee. The Honorable Barney Frank was brilliant in the sense that he knew the subject matter. Not only did he know the subject matter, but he could present it with a great degree of eloquence and a certain amount of humor. He did it with style, and he did it without any notes. He never came to a hearing with notes. He could talk about the derivatives. He could talk about credit default swaps. He could talk about the 3/27s and 2/ 28s, all without a single note. I never saw him bring notes to one single hearing. He was brilliant, one of the great minds of our time, Mr. Speaker. I rise to salute him because he not only helped to shape the destiny of this country with Dodd-Frank, but also because he helped to shape the destiny of my path in Congress. He was a great mentor. He was someone who was well respected and that all the members of the committee, regardless of party affiliation, looked up to. He truly had something special--I believe the French call it je ne sais quoi--just something very unique, something that you just don't see in people, generally speaking. I am proud to call him a friend. I am proud to say that as a friend of the community, I, Al Green, an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, present the Pride resolution annually in the Congress of the United States of America. {time} 1130 In so doing, I have made the Honorable Barney Frank an honorary sponsor of that resolution. I will continue to do so in H. Res. 550. He was an honorary cosponsor, and I shall continue in his absence to do so. Dear brother, Barney Frank, you have made a difference, and that difference is known to many; unfortunately, unknown to many others. Today, I rise to salute you and pay you the respect that you have earned as a great and noble American. God bless you, dear brother. Rest in eternal peace. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HRES550