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Between 1997 and 2017, the Congressional Office of Compliance has paid out over $17 million dollars to settle complaints ranging from sexual harassment to racial, religious and disability-related discrimination.
Now, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) is calling for transparency regarding which members of Congress are responsible for putting the American taxpayers on the hook to compensate the victims of their alleged misconduct.
Taxpayers have paid over $17 million for alleged sexual misconduct in Congressional offices. Publish the offices! https://t.co/xLJA28N3NM
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 26, 2024
Massie reminded members of Congress that former President Trump was under fire for allegedly paying $130,000 of his own money, and then asked his fellow Congressmen, who among them had forced the taxpayers to settle their misconduct complaints.
CNN reported that the fund through which the Office of Compliance settles these complaints was created in 1995 under the Congressional Accountability Act.
Accountability has been lacking since the creation of the fund since the statistics on the payments isn’t broken down into specific claims because the settlements may involve cases that allege violations of one of more than 13 statutes covered under the Congressional Accountability Act.
It remains unclear as to how much of the $17 million dollars in settlement money paid out was related to cases involving sexual harassment, due to the complex reporting process and because many of the individuals who come forward with sexual harassment complaints choose not to proceed with the process for handling their complaints.
Massie called out members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, saying that the money paid out came from the taxpayers and none of it was turned in as a campaign finance expense by the Congressional offices which needed that money to settle complaints.
Massey continued to press for accountability, saying, “I’m for turning loose all of these records. Who in here has had the taxpayer pay for their sexual misconduct charges, the hush money?”
Misconduct behind closed doors shouldn’t remain a secret as long as the taxpayers are the ones who must pay for it.
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