Bachus-Frank feud continues

“I would like to investigate the individual who is apparently impersonating me in the Capitol and has fooled Spencer Bachus into thinking he has been dealing with me,” he said Wednesday.

In response to Frank’s response, Bachus put out his own statement, pointing out that Frank had said in June he’d be willing to consider technical corrections legislation, quoting Frank saying, “I believe we will need a technical corrections bill” during a meeting of the House-Senate conference committee as they were finalizing the legislation.

Bachus contended that apparent disconnect must be evidence that a faux Frank is indeed on the loose.

Bachus followed up that statement Thursday morning by publicizing a video of Frank making the comments, calling it a “stunning development” in the hunt for “the alleged Frank copycat.”

“Chairman Bachus suggests that anyone who sees this person pretending to be Barney Frank should contact Frank’s office,” his statement said.

Frank responded to Bachus’s response to Frank’s original response Thursday afternoon, this time accusing Bachus of being the one who is inconsistent.

Frank said in a statement that he challenged Bachus on the report they were working on a technical correction bill, at which point Bachus denied saying it. He then said he spoke with the journalist who wrote the original story, who said Bachus had, in fact, said it.

He insisted that, in 2011, he has had “exactly one conversation” with Bachus about addressing new limits on debit-card fees included in Dodd-Frank.

“His statement that I now believe he did make although he denied to me that he did — that we are currently engaged in conversations about changes — is simply wrong,” he said.

Frank closed by turning the tables on Bachus, asking him to clarify what exactly committee Republicans are planning when it comes to housing reform. He contended that Bachus originally said the committee would be moving on several small bills reforming mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, only to go and say elsewhere that the committee would first vote on a single broad bill that would wind down the two institutions in just a few years.

Frank said Bachus denied saying that when asked, “although he was widely reported in the press as having done so.”

“I await learning from Mr. Bachus, which of the other statements he is reported to have made, he will tell us he never made,” Frank concluded.