The House of Representatives voted 420-0 to pass a resolution to expose lawmakers who used taxpayer money to settle misconduct claims.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) voted present, describing the resolution as “political theater.”
Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) presented the resolution:
The resolution, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., would require the House Ethics Committee to “preserve and publicly release” records related to monetary settlements involving sexual misconduct.Massie, a frequent thorn in House GOP leadership’s side, forced a vote on the resolution, arguing that gaps in reporting requirements enacted in 2018 may still allow taxpayer-funded settlements to remain hidden.The Kentucky lawmaker said he discovered there were no reported cases involving any members repaying sexual harassment settlements since then.
“We need to know what’s been going on here in the House of Representatives in order to convince the people and assure the people that we are conducting the people’s business with the utmost integrity and treating the officers and employees of this institution with the respect that they deserve,” Massie told the chamber during a floor speech.
The resolution forces the “ethics panel and the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to publicly report sexual misconduct cases involving lawmakers and their staff that resulted in taxpayer-funded settlements, along with the total amount of taxpayer money spent.”
The push comes after Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) resigned due to sexual misconduct allegations.
The House Ethics Committee said it “does not handle sexual harassment lawsuits or have any involvement in settlements of such claims.”
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee forced the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to release settlements, revealing that taxpayers shelled out over “$300,000 to settle claims against House lawmakers or their offices” since the early 2000s.
The practice ended in 2018, though, forcing members of Congress to settle on their own. The Ethics Committee claimed no one had notified members of any awards or settlements relating to allegations of sexual harassment by a Member.
But those records are why Mace voted present. Mace wondered why Congress would vote on something she had already released.
The House rejected Mace’s resolution a few months ago that would have compelled “the Ethics Committee to release information on its investigations of lawmakers who have been accused of sexual misconduct.”
The leaders of the Ethics panel disagreed with Mace due to how it could affect the victims.
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