BOSTON, April 13 (UPI) -- Rep. Barney Frank says he was just trying to read and mind his own business on a flight to Boston amid snarky comments about healthcare reform.

Frank, who helped lead the controversial legislation through Congress, was the object of some reportedly snide remarks from two doctors who were also on the plane.


"They wanted to talk to me, but I apologized and said I like to read and watch on planes," Frank told the Boston Globe Tuesday. "They began to talk louder."

Frank said while he stayed out of the fray, his partner, Jimmy Ready, handled the back-and-forth with the two female ophthalmologists, who became increasingly riled when Ready accused them of being "bitchy."

Another passenger on Monday's Los Angeles-to-Boston flight said Frank was minding his own business while the doctors had been drinking and getting a bit loud.

The high-altitude debate settled down after a bit and the rest of the flight was uneventful, the Globe reported.