Congress is clueless over rules

THE REPORTING process for sexual assault in Congress appears to be shrouded in so much secrecy that high-ranking House members aren’t aware of the settlements paid out to victims.

The system is drawing added scrutiny after reports that Rep. John Conyers – the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives — paid more than $27,000 from his taxpayer-funded office budget after a woman filed a complaint against him in 2014.

Conyers on Tuesday denied any inappropriate behavior.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner both said they were not aware of the settlement.

The settlement is only a small drop in the bucket — according to data provided by the Office of Compliance, Congress has paid out more than $17.2 million over 286 sexual misconduct and discrimination settlements within the last 20 years.

“Under current law, the OOC is not authorized to release information about individual awards and settlements,” agency spokeswoman Laura Cech said in an email.

“It is important to note that the parties decided whether to settle their dispute, how much to settle for, and whether to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”

Capitol Hill’s reporting process has become a center of debate amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations rattling Hollywood, media and politics — with critics calling for a simplified process that would prevent such secrecy.

Currently, sexual harassment victims in Congress have 180 days to report an incident with the Office of Compliance. They’re then required to undergo counseling for 30 days to “discuss an employee’s concerns and …rights under law,” according to the office’s handbook.

From there, employees have 15 days to decide whether to move forward with the mediation process. If mediation is not sought, the incident is dropped.

If a settlement is reached, the complainant is required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. If not, there’s a mandatory 30-day “cooling off” period before a case can be taken to court.

A new bill authored by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) would make the counseling and mediation aspects of the reporting process optional.

It would also require accused lawmakers to pay back the taxpayers.