But Frank's greatest contribution to the House has been his work on the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, and especially on the Housing sub-committee. He has been an eager proponent of affordable housing for the poor, elderly and handicapped.

Recently, he has been lobbying for a "mixed populations" bill that will separate the public housing allotted to the elderly and the handicapped.

As a promoter of affordable public housing, Frank is often quite unpopular in Congress, and has faced considerable opposition in his efforts to divert money from such things as space development to housing.

On the floor the House last June, Frank argued against an amendment to allocate $250 million to a space station. Frank said the monies could be better used to fund new public housing projects for the poor.

"We are not even talking about the quality of life, because we do not give them that. We are not talking about quality; we are talking about bare necessities," he said.

But Frank is far too busy and principled to worry about any unpopularity he may have in the House. He is unexhaustively on the offense, mostly against those who don't agree with him.

"Republicans are able to play on the people's morals." he says. "Democrats are obsessed without wanting to [be] and are more vulnerable as a result."

Frank muses about the future of American politics and the disturbing trend of politicians appropriating the "outsider" image to obtain popularity.

"If Jerry Brown is an outsider, I'm a rap singer," says Frank. "He's a career politician who thought it was good idea to look like an outsider."

But the fascination with outsiders is a trend that means "people are angry. Anger is is reasonable, but it should be targeted at substance not at the procedural," he says.

Frank has every intention of carrying his political career as far as he can. Says Frank, "If I'm lucky, I'll stay where I am."