House Admin. Committee reports $342K in discrimination and harassment payouts from 2008 to 2012

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Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold won’t seek re-election next year, adding his name to the list of lawmakers leaving Congress amid sexual harassment allegations. (Dec. 14)
AP

 

WASHINGTON — Between 2008 and 2012, more than $342,000 in taxpayer funds have been paid to settle discrimination and harassment complaints involving members of the House, the chairman of the House Administration Committee said Tuesday.

Included in that larger total was $115,000 for sexual harassment and harassment because of retaliation claims, according to the statement released by Rep. Gregg Harper, the Mississippi Republican who chairs the House Administration Committee.

Harper gave a breakdown of sexual harassment-related payments relating to members of Congress after a public backlash to reports about a special Treasury fund that’s paid the victims.

According to a previous report from the Office of Compliance, more than $17 million has been paid out in settlements over a period of 20 years — 1997 to 2017.

Those settlements, however, included offices other than Congress and claims other than sexual harassment, such as racial discrimination and ageism. 

Harper said $342,225.85 was paid to settle different types of discrimination and harassment between 2008 and 2012, with $85,000 going toward “sexual harassment and harassment because of retaliation.” An addition $30,000 went to sex harassment-related payouts, including retaliation, for a total of $115,000, Harper’s statement says.

“One case of sexual harassment is one case too many. We must create a culture within our Capitol Hill community that instills in every employee and employer, new and old, that there is no place for sexual harassment in the halls of Congress,” Harper said.

Through an anonymous source, Politico reported that $84,000 was paid out to a former staffer of U.S. Rep Blake Farenthold, R-Texas. In December 2014, she filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing Farenthold of making sexually charged statements toward her and engaging in off-color behavior.

The Congressional Accountability Act was intended to make lawmakers subject to the same workplace laws against harassment and discrimination as the rest of American employers.

More: Sexual harassment fund exposes Congress

More: Sexual harassment went unchecked for decades as payouts silenced accusers

 

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