House Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Publicly Name US Lawmakers Who Used Taxpayer Funds for Sexual Misconduct Settlements

Lawmakers voted decisively Tuesday to approve a proposal requiring the public disclosure of House members who used taxpayer money to settle sexual misconduct claims. The measure passed with 420 votes in favor, with only Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., recording a “present” vote.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., mandates that the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights and the House Ethics Committee release a list of members who paid such settlements, along with aggregate totals for misconduct involving House employees, according to Roll Call.

The legislation comes on the heels of recent resignations by Reps. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who faced accusations of sexual misconduct. A 2018 law already requires members to cover their own settlements and directs the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to publish an annual report on misconduct payments. The new bill goes further by specifically naming members who have made such payments.

Before the vote, Massie urged his colleagues to support the measure.

“I would urge my colleagues to vote for this in the interest of transparency and openness,” Massie said.

He also told CNN that he wanted to ensure no additional records remained undisclosed by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights or the House Ethics Committee.

“I just feel like there’s something missing,” Massie said. “If somebody thinks what I’m doing is redundant, then it’s an easy yes vote.”

Mace, who voted present, defended her position by pointing to her prior work on the issue. She said the bill was no different from efforts she had already undertaken to increase transparency around sexual misconduct.

“I already did this,” Mace told CNN. “I subpoenaed the files in oversight in March and released them in May. It’s already been done.”

In April, the House Ethics Committee released a summary of all publicly disclosed matters it had investigated involving alleged sexual misconduct by members, listing 28 instances in total and 15 instances since 2017, The Hill reported.


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