House Republicans plan to move swiftly to deal with a cascade of sexual harassment claims that have gripped Congress, beginning in January with a bill that would undo the law shielding the identities of accused lawmakers and end taxpayer-funded payouts.
House Administration Committee Chairman Gregg Harper, R-Miss., told the Washington Examiner he intends to move legislation through the panel by late January that would reform the 1995 Congressional Accountability Act, which governs the way the Legislative Branch handles workplace claims, including sexual harassment.
The current law shields the identities of those accused of workplace violations including sexual harassment, and it permits the federal government to cover the cost of claims. Harper said the panel has been hard at work “tearing apart” the law to find ways to improve transparency and responsiveness to those making claims.
“My goal is that we would have all this resolved and have a markup at the end of January,” Harper told the Washington Examiner.
The Capitol has been roiled by sexual harassment claims that have ended or damaged the careers of a string of lawmakers.
The latest stunning development occurred on Thursday, when Rep. Trent Franks, a longtime conservative Republican representing Arizona, announced his resignation over allegations of inappropriate behavior. Franks denied any inappropriate behavior but said he discussed surrogacy with two of his female staffers because he and his wife have struggled with infertility.
Franks wasn’t specific, but some reports said Franks asked his two female staffers to become surrogate mothers for him.
That news came only hours after Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., announced in a floor speech he would resign in the coming weeks after a string of women accused him of groping or kissing them inappropriately. And on Wednesday, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the longest-serving member, resigned after several women staffers accused him of decades of sexual harassment.
“It’s a sea change in the culture,” Harper acknowledged.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Thursday called the revelations “a watershed moment” that “needs to lead to lasting and positive change.”
House and Senate lawmakers moved this month to pass legislation mandating annual sexual harassment training for both lawmakers and their employees. But House lawmakers aren’t stopping at training.
Harper’s panel held a hearing on Thursday to examine the 1995 law and to consider ways to reform it.
Congress has come under intense criticism after it was revealed tens of thousands of dollars in federal funds have been used to pay the victims of sexual harassment claims made against lawmakers.
The specific claims and amounts are secret, but Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, has acknowledged his office paid a female employee $84,000 in response to her claim that he and others created a hostile work environment, including sexual harassment. The Ethics panel is now investigating Farenthold over the matter.
The House Ethics Committee this week attempted to launch a broader inquiry into the settlements to see if other lawmakers or staff violated House rules, but they were denied the information by the Office of Compliance, which oversees the claims and cited the 1995 law.
“The OOC believes they are barred by law to give it, but if you change the law they’d be happy to give it to Ethics,” Harper said. “So that is one of the things we should look at changing.”
Harper will author the legislation. It is likely to include ideas for several anti-sexual harassment bills that have been introduced by both Democrats and Republicans in recent weeks.
A bill authored by Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., would expose past sexual harassment settlements in Congress and require lawmakers to pay back the Treasury. Harper said he does not believe legislation can work retroactively, but his bill could put lawmakers and staff on the hook for future claims.
“I don’t know that we can do anything about what happened previously, but we can do something about going forward,” Harper said. “Everybody is very concerned about taxpayer funding being used to settle any type of sexual harassment claim.”
Harper is also worried about ensuring the names of victims are kept private if needed, so transparency provisions in the legislation would have to be carefully written, he said.
“One of our goals here is to make sure the changes we make in this process are not going to make it more difficult for the victims,” Harper said. “I have concerns. There is a way to get this right and we are going to get that.”
