USA TODAY International Edition
House members told to settle with their own cash
Past sex harassment cases used office budgets
WASHINGTON – The House passed a bill Tuesday that would require members of Congress to pay out of their own pockets for any sexual harassment settlements, and would help victims better navigate the complaint process on Capitol Hill.
“There is no place for sexual harassment or any type of harassment, period,” Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., chairman of the House Administration Committee, said before the House vote on the measure.
The House approved the measure by voice vote. It now moves to the Senate.
The bipartisan effort led by Harper, Reps. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and Barbara Comstock, R-Va., follows sexual harassment allegations spreading across the country — including members of Congress being named in misconduct cases. Several members have recently resigned or announced plans to retire after charges of sexual harassment.
The bill would require members to personally pay any settlements rather than using their office budgets. Congress has come under fire because some settlements have been paid with funds from the U.S. Treasury.
“Offenders, themselves, will have to pay,” Comstock said.
The House also approved a resolution that would amend the House Code of Conduct to specifically ban sexual relations between a member of Congress and a staffer he or she supervises.
It also would require each office to adopt an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy and set up the Office of Employee Advocacy to help employees who complain about sexual harassment navigate the process.
“This bill empowers survivors,” said Speier, who called the effort to address the issue a “rare and crucial moment of bipartisanship.”
Speier said members of Congress will now be held responsible for their “bad behavior.”
Comstock praised the measure but said it should go further and expose members who have paid past sexual harassment settlements.
The House passed a resolution last year that requires members and their staff to undergo mandatory anti-sexual harassment training. The Senate approved a similar measure.