Rep. Barney Frank with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Enlarge Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

Rep. Barney Frank, at left, welcomes Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to Capitol Hill last month.

Rep. Barney Frank with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

Rep. Barney Frank, at left, welcomes Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to Capitol Hill last month.

This feature requires version 9 or higher of the Adobe Flash Player.Get the latest Flash Player.

On today's Planet Money:

If any single player is driving the process for reforming financial regulation on Capitol Hill, it's Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). The chair of the House Financial Services Committee tells Adam Davidson that bipartisan consensus on the issue is beyond reach.

As you'll hear in this interview, Frank is an intense lawmaker with very definite ideas about politics and the art of the possible.

Correction: Adam says he goofed. While interviewing Frank, Adam said that Frank's staff had told him regulatory reform must happen this year or else never happen. Adam says he misunderstood and apologizes for the error.

Bonus: Rep. Frank confronts a person comparing President Obama to Hitler, after the jump.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

 

This month, Rep. Frank held a town hall meeting on overhauling health care. These town hall meetings have been contentious around the nation. Frank waded right into the fight.