US/World News

Rep. Barney Frank to step down

Rep. Barney Frank

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) announced Monday that he is not seeking re-election in 2012.
The Jewish legislator is best known for a very witty and blatant rhetoric, and for being one of the first openly gay members of Congress. In response to Frank’s retirement, National Jewish Democratic Council President and CEO David A. Harris said in a statement: “Through his fierce advocacy for many Democratic and social justice causes, Frank truly represented the Jewish value of tikkun olam—repairing the world.”
Frank, who has served for 16 terms, has recently been at the front of the legislative push for the release of Jewish U.S. prisoner Jonathan Pollard. In 2010 Frank lead a group of 39 members of Congress who submitted a plea of clemency to the White House, and he again asked for clemency in a speech on the House floor this past August.
“I wish I could be more optimistic [about Pollard’s chances of being released],” Frank told JointMedia News Service earlier in November. “I’ve written to the president, but I’ve never gotten any acknowledgement for any of this.”
–JointMedia News Service

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