The House voted Tuesday to require the public release of records identifying House members who used taxpayer funds to settle sexual misconduct claims, as well as the amounts paid to resolve those cases.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., directs the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to produce the records within 60 days.
The measure passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 420-0, with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., the only lawmaker voting “present.”
The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights oversees workplace misconduct claims involving Congress, including allegations of sexual harassment and other forms of misconduct, Politico reported.
“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,” said Massie on the House floor before imploring members to support his resolution.
Massie lost his primary last month to a Republican backed by President Trump, so he will be leaving Congress in January.
Massie introduced the resolution after the departures of Reps. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., earlier this year amid separate allegations of serious sexual misconduct.
The cases renewed scrutiny of how the House handles allegations against its own members and intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability.
In response, the House Ethics Committee publicly reaffirmed its commitment to investigating allegations involving lawmakers. However, the panel noted in an April statement that it does not oversee sexual harassment lawsuits or participate in negotiating or approving settlements of those claims.
Earlier this year, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted to subpoena records from the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
According to those records, the federal government paid more than $300,000 to settle claims involving House members or their offices.
Congress ended the practice of using taxpayer funds to pay such settlements on behalf of members in 2018.
Since then, the House Ethics Committee has said it has not