Representatives Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday called on Congress to release the names of current and former members of Congress who are on a secret list of members who have used tax dollars to settle sexual harassment lawsuits.
“Congress secretly paid more than $17 million of your money to quietly settle accusations of harassment (sexual and other forms) in Congressional offices,” Massey (R-Ky.) wrote to X.
“Don't you think we should publish the names of MPs? We will,” he added.
Massey's proposal was quickly supported by Greene (R-Ga.).
“Yes. I would like to publish the list of sexual secret funds in Congress,” the lawmaker wrote to X.
“Taxpayers should never have had to pay for that. They shouldn't have to pay for it, along with all the other garbage,” she argued.
Since 1997, the Congressional Office of Workplace Rights has Paid over $17 million in public funds Resolve approximately 300 workplace disputes at the U.S. Capitol, including claims related to sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage disputes.
The opaque firm has not released the identities of those who have reached settlements, nor has it broken down how much of the money it has paid over the past 27 years is specifically related to sexual harassment lawsuits.
The office told Politico in 2017: “Most cases” Resolves to involve staff not employed by the House or Senate, including staff from the Library of Congress, the Capitol Police, and the Architect of the Capitol.
The secret list does not include members of Congress who settle sexual harassment cases outside the Congressional Office of Workplace Rights, as the late former Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) did in 2015.
Two former House Republicans also expressed support for releasing the names of the “sex funds.”
“Massey's point is spot on,” former Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) wrote in X. The supervisors who committed the harassment at the Capitol should be held accountable. Then there will be no more harassment! In DC, taxpayers come last. ”
“Yes. Taxpayers have a right to know,” former Rep. Jason Chafetz (R-Utah) tweeted in support of Massie.
Massey and Greene's request follows the release of the House Ethics Committee's report on allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Following the controversy surrounding the report, which was released after Gates resigned from Congress, Gates, a Florida Republican, said that the report, with the sole purpose of exposing those on the secret list, He briefly floated the idea of returning to the Capitol.
“Someone suggested the following plan to me,” Gates wrote to X last week. “1. Attend Congress on January 3, 2025 2. Participate in the Speaker election (after all, I was elected to the 119th Congress…) 3. Take the oath 4. Paid with public funds File a Privilege Motion to Reveal All “Me Too” Settlement Funds 5. Resign and Begin the @OANN Program on January 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM EST. ”
Politico reported last week that some Republicans have already pass a resolution That will do exactly that.
