Former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s sexual assault and misconduct scandal has prompted more calls for transparency over Congress’s slush fund to settle claims.
Luna has been at the forefront since the Swalwell scandal emerged last week.
The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights handles misconduct claims. From Newsweek:
According to data from the agency, the OCWR paid out over $18 million to settle nearly 300 workplace disputes—related to pay, discrimination, harassment and other issues—between 1997 and 2019. These disputes concerned Congress, the Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Library of Congress.These sums have grown calls for further transparency, with the nonprofit OpenTheBooks writing in 2021: “After 23 years and $18 million in payouts from the Workplace Rights office, it seems like taxpayers might have a right to know more details.”
The OCWR applied about $450,000 of that $18 million “to payments for violations of Section 201 of the Congressional Accountability Act, which covers sex-based discrimination and harassment in the workplace.”
During the #MeToo movement, Congress began requiring lawmakers to repay settlement costs to the Treasury.
Except, you know, their salary also comes from the taxpayers. I doubt they’ll use any of the money they gained on the outside since joining Congress.
However, we still don’t know details about the slush fund, such as “the scale of past settlements and ongoing investigations.”
Rep. Nancy Mace’s motion to subpoena the records demands the OCWR “release of all awards and settlements paid pursuant to Section 415 of the Congressional Accountability Act prior to December 12, 2018 for misconduct by Members of Congress.”
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