Barney's new pulpit: Rep. Barney Frank, the new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has a reputation as one of Congress' wittiest members. Observers say his rhetoric may be harsher than his strategy, but his approach to issues like executive compensation and Sarbanes-Oxley reform may not be welcomed by business executives.(CONGRESS/PROFILE)

Financial Executive, March, 2007 by Barlas, Stephen

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is the Robin Williams of Capitol Hill. He piles witty quips on top of one another like some counterman at a kosher deli heaping sliced meat on rye. At the same time, though, Frank is a serious politician, in many ways the heart and mind of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. So, his one-liners are often fortified with substantial intellectual protein. Sometimes, though, there is also a lot of ham between the bread.

When the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly put out a news release a few days before Christmas last year announcing a change in its reporting rules for executive pay, Frank went into shtick mode. "I didn't even know they had a chimney at the...

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