Ryan urges colleagues to complete antiharassment training

WASHINGTON: Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, urged House members to undergo training to prevent sexual harassment and to mandate the same for staff members, his most direct response yet to reports of inappropriate comments and unwanted touching on Capitol Hill.

“Let me be absolutely clear that any form of harassment has no place in this institution,” Ryan wrote on Friday in a letter to colleagues.

“To that end, I strongly encourage you to complete sexual harassment training and to mandate the training for your staff. We can and should lead by example,” he wrote.

The note came as lawmakers debate how to address reports of persistent sexual harassment affecting staffers and female members of Congress. New allegations of misconduct have prompted leaders to recommend anti-harassment training, which is not mandatory on Capitol Hill, unlike in the executive branch and much of private industry.

Ryan has also ordered the Committee on House Administration to review training and policies aimed at stopping sexual harassment.

“Our goal must be a culture where everyone who works in our offices feels safe and able to fulfill their duties,” he wrote to colleagues.

This latest discussion of sexual harassment in the political arena was triggered last month by public accusations of misconduct against movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Since then, reports in The Post and other news outlets have revealed a workplace culture on Capitol Hill that continues to tolerate harassment, despite an increase in the power and visibility of female lawmakers and staff since 1995.

A push to mandate antiharassment training gained momentum this week after an endorsement from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the author of the 1995 law that introduced workplace protections on Capitol Hill.

The debate will likely widen next week after Sen Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, releases the details of a bill to tighten those protections and reform the process for reporting violations.

“Congress should never be above the law or play by their own set of rules,” Gillibrand said Friday in a statement about the legislation.

“The current process has little accountability and even less sensitivity to victims of sexual harassment . . . . We must ensure that this institution handles complaints to create an environment where staffers can come forward if something happens to them without having to fear that it will ruin their careers,” she said. — WPBloomberg