Congress may have one less openly gay member next session, as the senior out member of the LGBT contingent in the U. S. House of Representatives announced this week that he will not seek re-election.
After a 20-year career in Congress, Rep. Barney Frank said Monday that he will retire at the end of his current term in 2013.
Frank, 71, said he had been considering retirement since last year, but his decision was expedited in part after redistricting caused him to lose a significant Democratic stronghold in his Massachusetts district.
“This means that running for reelection will require a significant commitment of my time and energy introducing myself to hundreds of thousands of new constituents, learning about the regional and local issues of concern to them and, not least importantly, raising an additional $1.5 to $2 million,” Frank said in a statement, noting that his campaign commitments would have hampered his ability to fight for finance reform and the reduction of overseas troops, two of his goals for the coming year.
Frank said the current state of politics “makes it harder to get anything done at the federal level,” adding he believes he could be more effective working as a public-policy advocate than as a member of Congress.
Frank was first elected to Congress in 1981 after eight years in the Massachusetts state legislature.
He came out in 1987, becoming the second openly gay Congressmember and the first to come out voluntarily; Rep. Gerry Studds did so in 1983 during a Congressional investigation into his relationship with a male aide.
Frank was later joined in Congress by out members Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis and David Cicilline.
Baldwin, who recently announced her own intentions to run for Senate, hailed her fellow legislator’s commitment to LGBT equality.
“For LGBT Americans, Barney has had an immeasurable impact both symbolically and substantively,” she said. “He has written and fought for laws that are leading us toward full equality. He co-founded with me the first Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, which now boasts a bipartisan membership of nearly 100. He has been a role model for LGBT youth in and out of government. For me, he also has been a valued mentor and friend.”
In a statement this week, President Obama called Frank a “fierce advocate” for the people of Massachusetts and across the country.
“He has worked tirelessly on behalf of families and businesses and helped make housing more affordable. He has stood up for the rights of LGBT Americans and fought to end discrimination against them. And it is only thanks to his leadership that we were able to pass the most sweeping financial reform in history designed to protect consumers and prevent the kind of excessive risk-taking that led to the financial crisis from ever happening again,” he said.
The president went on to say Frank’s “passion and quick wit” will be missed in the halls of Congress.
The Congressman’s acerbic tongue was something noted by many allies after his retirement announcement.
“No one’s ever doubted for a minute what Barney Frank thinks or where he stands and, if you weren’t sure, trust me, he’d tell you,” said U.S. Sen. John Kerry, who also represents Massachusetts. “That’s the special quality that has made Barney not just beloved and quotable but unbelievably effective as an advocate and a legislator. He’s brave, he’s bold and he’s ridiculously smart.”
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, noted that Frank will make an excellent advocate for the LGBT community once he leaves Congress.
“We join him in his eagerness to debate three-time married Newt Gingrich on the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and on who exactly is threatening the sanctity of marriage,” he said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Rep. Frank after he leaves Washington and are confident he will remain a leader in the fight for LGBT equality.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].