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Congress to change harassment claim process
Senate agrees on bill focusing on Capitol Hill allegations
Legislation to reform processing of sexual harassment claims against lawmakers and staff.
WASHINGTON — After months of delay, senators said Wednesday they have reached a deal on legislation to reform how sexual harassment claims against lawmakers and staff are handled on Capitol Hill.
The legislation requires members of Congress to personally repay taxpayers for settling harassment claims filed against them, even if they resign.
The House in February unanimously passed its own bill to rewrite the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, but momentum stalled in the Senate.
Frustrated that the bill was languishing, the 22 women serving in the Senate pressured leaders in March to bring the bill up for a vote. “No longer can we allow the perpetrators of these crimes to hide behind a 23-year-old law,” they wrote in a letter to leaders.
Every male Democratic senator and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas sent a similar letter soon after, urging leaders to make the bill a priority.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., unveiled the Senate version of the legislation Wednesday.
“For too long victims of workplace harassment in the Senate have been forced into a process that is stacked against them,” Klobuchar said in a statement.
Congress fast-tracked an examination of its decadesold process to handle sexual harassment claims last fall after several members were accused of unwanted sexual advances or acts. The allegations resulted in the resignations of more than a half a dozen representatives and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
Critics said the existing process was burdensome, secretive, time-consuming and stacked against accusers for the benefit of the person being accused.
The reform effort came amid a nationwide reckoning around sexual harassment spurred by the #MeToo movement that brought down several prominent men in entertainment and media.
Both the House and Senate bills do away with requirements that accusers first undergo up to 30 days of counseling and 30 days of mediation before they could seek an investigation or take the issue to court.
Victims would get the same access to legal counsel that the person being accused gets. Currently only the person being accused gets legal counsel and the accuser must provide their own.
Accusers won’t have to sign a nondisclosure agreement but will have to make their claims under oath.
Under the bill, members of Congress who settle claims brought against them using a special government fund will have to repay that money to the U.S. Treasury, and their wages or Social Security could be garnished if they don’t repay the settlement within 90 days. They would not be financially responsible for claims filed against their staff.
The House and Senate bills differ in a dozen or so small ways, which will need to be reconciled. For example, the Senate bill gives accusers up to 90 days to file a claim while the House version sets a 45day limit.
In a bipartisan joint statement, Senate leaders praised the bill and said they were optimistic it would pass. They did not lay out a timeline for the bill’s consideration. Senators were briefed on the bill during party meetings Tuesday, and Blunt indicated to reporters a vote could happen by the end of the week. “With this agreement, both parties are coming together to update the laws governing how the Congress addresses workplace claims and protecting staff and others from harassment,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said in the joint statement.