Winter storm warnings continue in northern Minnesota 

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

All 22 women in the Senate are calling for their fellow lawmakers to do something about sexual harassment.

In a letter written to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the 17 Democrats and five Republican senators ask that their chamber take up legislation to overhaul the sexual harassment complaint process on Capitol Hill.

"Survivors who have bravely come forward to share their stories have brought to light just how widespread harassment and discrimination continue to be throughout Capitol Hill," they wrote. "No longer can we allow the perpetrators of these crimes to hide behind a 23-year-old law."

That 23-year-old law is the Congressional Accountability Act, passed in 1995, and it dictates how harassment claims are currently handled on Capitol Hill. Members of both parties have criticized that system as outdated, and the House has already passed legislation that would make significant changes to it.


"The process that somebody has to go through to file a claim is really kind of stacked against the claimant," Republican Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama — himself a former employment law lawyer — 

.

Filing an official complaint about harassment on the Hill involves a multistep dispute resolution process that can stretch out for months, as described on the congressional 

. A staffer must first request counseling and that counseling period "normally lasts for 30 days," according to the Office of Compliance. Then, the staffer must request mediation, which also usually lasts 30 days. If that mediation doesn't resolve things, the staffer then can proceed with a lawsuit or have an administrative hearing, but can only do so 30 to 90 days after the mediation ends.

In addition, taxpayer dollars have funded settlements to staffers complaining of harassment. 

 that the Treasury has spent $174,000 on settling harassment-related claims over the last five years. In February, the House unanimously passed a measure that would overhaul the Congressional Accountability Act. That bill would 

ensure that lawmakers who harass employees

 pay for settlements out of their own pockets, and it would also simplify the complaint process.


Though that bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the House, passing via a voice vote, the Senate has not taken it up yet.

Below, read the full text of the senators' letter:

Politics and Government News

Danielle Kurtzleben 

Author

Democratic and Republican women have come together to ask that their chamber take up legislation overhauling how harassment claims are handled on Capitol Hill.

All 22 women senators call for Senate to address sexual harassment

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox