House, Senate agree on bill for new sexual harassment policy

WASHINGTON >> More than a year after the #MeToo era began, the House and the Senate reached a deal Wednesday to change their policies on sexual harassment and make lawmakers liable for their own misconduct in the workplace.

The agreement was brokered after nearly seven months of negotiations between the two chambers and with just days left in the 2018 legislative calendar. Members involved in the talks predicted the bill would be adopted quickly in both chambers and that the new rules would take effect before January, when the new Congress convenes. While exact legislative language was not released, the Senate Rules Committee confirmed that lawmakers will be required to reimburse the Treasury Department for settlements and awards resulting from harassment or retaliation they commit. Under the current system, settlements are paid for by taxpayers.

“Everybody will understand their personal liability and their personal responsibility, and that will be a good thing,” Rules Committee Chairman Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told reporters Wednesday.

Leaders and lawmakers in the House vowed further action in the next Congress.

“We believe this is a strong step towards creating a new standard in Congress that will set a positive example in our nation, but there is still more work to be done,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other key lawmakers said in a joint statement.

The deal represents the first major change to Capitol Hill’s employment policies in response to the #MeToo movement, apart from mandatory anti-harassment training for lawmakers and staff.

More than half a dozen members of Congress were forced to resign within the past year amid allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct. Some had been involved in secret settlements that were eventually revealed in the media.

In other action Wednesday, the Senate voted 50-49 to overturn a Trump administration policy that allows politically active nonprofits to withhold from the government the identities of their donors, underscoring a growing unease among Democrats over the influence of wealthy donors and foreign actors in U.S. elections.

The rule is unlikely to survive the GOPled House, which must vote on the resolution before the end of the year, or receive the support of President Donald Trump, whose Treasury Department enacted the rule earlier this year.

Still, Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who pushed for the resolution, cheered the vote, which was made possible with unanimous support from Democratic senators and the backing of one moderate Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine.

The legislation only required a simple majority to pass under the Congressional Review Act.