Congressman Barney Frank said White House officials told him his call Thursday for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration boss Jane Lubchenco's resignation was "much too drastic," and his problems with how the fishermen have been treated could be solved.
"I have said, 'OK, you tell me that I'm wrong and this is not the best way to accomplish what I want,' and I say fine, I hope that's true," said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat. "I'm ready to be proven wrong, on the methods, not on the goals."
Frank's call for Lubchenco's resignation was echoed by Democrat Rep. John Tierney of Massachusetts on Thursday and Republican Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina on Friday.
A Tierney spokeswoman, Kathryn Prael, said Friday that Tierney was pleased White House officials were "pledging to hold Dr. Lubchenco accountable, but he is not yet convinced the current NOAA leadership is committed to making the changes that are necessary at the agency."
In an interview, Jones said "there should have been some heads to roll" at NOAA after the Inspector General's revelations. But he said the same lawyers and enforcement officers who've been treating fisherman poorly are still in place, which showed an insensitivity to the fishing industry.
"In my humble opinion, it's all about perception of this agency, and the perception among those who are commercial and recreational fishing … is that it is an agency that is need of revision, quite frankly," Jones said.
On Friday, Frank noted he and a dozen other lawmakers from Northeast states met in May with Lubchenco and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to talk about emergency increases in fish catch limits, and said he hoped those talks would quickly resume.
"There have been conversations going on, I've been somewhat frustrated by the pace," Frank said.
Asked how patient he would be, Frank said, "Don't know."
Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.