Senate and House lawmakers have been unable to come to a bipartisan agreement on new workplace harassment legislation, prompting the House Ethics Committee to urge House and Senate leaders to find a solution that can pass before Congress concludes business for the year.
In a letter sent to the leadership in both chambers, members of the House Ethics Committee called the need to pass an updated Congressional Accountability Act “an imperative,” and said the reforms “are sorely needed to protect the integrity of and public confidence in Congress and to ensure that the legislative branch remain a place where men and women want to serve, and to improve the accountability of these vital issues.”
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The House passed a bill in February to reform the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. The House-passed version would make it easier for legislative branch employees to file complaints and add transparency to punishment meted out. It would end taxpayer funding of harassment payouts from lawmakers by requiring them to repay the U.S. Treasury within 90 days.
The bill would increase transparency by requiring the government to release a report every six months about harassment and workplace violation settlements that include the employing office, the award amount, the violation claimed, and when it was issued. The information would include whether a lawmaker has repaid the Treasury if found responsible for a claim.
The Senate bill, passed by voice vote in May, includes many of the House-passed reforms, but critics say it is the weaker of the two bills.
It also holds lawmakers accountable for paying harassment claims, but not discrimination claims, for example. The Senate bill, unlike the House bill, additionally provides a review of harassment settlements by the ethics committee, which critics say could provide a way for lawmakers to argue against having to reimburse the Treasury for a claim.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, has told reporters that lawmakers in both parties are working on a compromise with the House.
The two bills would have to be reintroduced and passed in the 116th Congress if lawmakers don’t clear a final version by the end of the year.
The issue of workplace harassment was elevated into the public spotlight after it was revealed a secretive fund had paid out $17 million in settlements over more than two decades for workplace violations, including harassment that occurred in the legislative branch.
