Taxpayers on the hook for $18 MILLION to pay off sexual harassment settlements against congressmen

Amid allegations of sexual misconduct being raised against Eric Swalwell, a new report has revealed how Congress uses taxpayer funds for settling workplace disputes, including sexual harassment claims. Swalwell resigned from Congress earlier this week.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said on Wednesday, "A friendly reminder that House Oversight subpoenaed the records of the congressional sexual harassment slush fund and we will be releasing them. Maybe we’ll see more resignations, you never know."

Between 1997 and 2019, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) settled nearly 300 workplace disputes related to discrimination, pay, harassment, and other issues, and paid out over $18 million, a report from the agency stated. 

Luna wrote, "$18 million of your taxpayer dollars was used to payout sexual harassment settlements by the congressional slush fund."

The taxpayer-funded system for settling workplace disputes was created under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, Newsweek reported. The OCWR handles the disputes, paying settlements being paid from the Treasury and the names of lawmakers involved rarely being released. Reforms were passed in 2018 that required members of Congress to repay the settlement costs.

Calls for further transparency about the system have increased over the years, with the nonprofit OpenTheBooks writing in 2021, "After 23 years and $18 million in payouts from the Workplace Rights office, it seems like taxpayers might have a right to know more details."

In March, the House Oversight Committee passed a motion from Rep. Nancy Mace to subpoena the OCWR. The motion demanded "the release of all awards and settlements paid pursuant to Section 415 of the Congressional Accountability Act prior to December 12, 2018 for misconduct by Members of Congress."

Mace said at the time, "Today, the members who voted for our subpoenas chose transparency over secrecy and accountability over cover-ups. We will not stay silent while the American people are kept in the dark. Not on the Epstein files. Not on the taxpayer-funded settlements members of Congress used to hide their own misconduct. Today brings us one step closer to the truth the establishment has tried so hard to keep buried."

Other critics, including watchdog groups, have argued that the system shields congressional members from accountability and that the system should not be using taxpayer funds to resolve individual complaints about lawmakers.