Congressional Sexual Harassment Settlements Exposed
Between 2007 and 2017, members of Congress utilized over $338,000 of taxpayer money from a so-called “sexual harassment slush fund,” as revealed by Representative Nancy Mace this week.
This figure, while higher than what was previously understood, represents a smaller fraction of the approximately $18 million disbursed in response to workplace complaints on Capitol Hill than what had been commonly speculated.
On Monday, Mace (R-S.C.) disclosed the identities of four former Congress members whose offices were involved in these payments: Rep. Blake Farenhold (R-Texas), Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.), Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pennsylvania). All four had faced accusations of sexual misconduct in the past.
Farenhold’s office made a payment of $84,000 in 2014, Massa’s office issued a total of $115,000 in payments across several installments in 2010, Conyers’s office paid $50,000 in 2010 along with a severance payment of $27,111.75 in 2017, and Meehan’s office disbursed $39,250 in 2017.
Interestingly, both Farenhold and Massa were members of the House Ethics Committee, which currently has 28 ongoing investigations into sexual misconduct by Congress members dating back to 1976.
Newly revealed cases among Mace’s findings include former Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-Louisiana), who paid $15,000, and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), who settled for $8,000. Alexander’s settlement is reported to be linked to a former staff member’s conduct, who was dismissed following the allegations. McCarthy passed away last year.
In fact, following the #MeToo movement’s peak in 2018, Congress enacted a law that prevents federal funding from covering sexual harassment lawsuits against its members, effectively ending the practice of using taxpayer money for such settlements.
Mace obtained this information after the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena for these records earlier this year.
She shared her findings on X, stating, “1000 pages,” alongside a binder of documents. “All records from before 2004 have been destroyed. This tells us all we need to know about how long this was buried.”
She also promised to release the full 1,000 pages once personal information regarding victims and witnesses has been appropriately redacted, reinforcing that accountability remains a commitment, not a threat.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida), Mace’s colleague, has demanded transparency concerning these actions. It’s worth noting that over $18 million was allocated to settle close to 300 workplace complaints related to various entities, including Congressional offices and the Capitol Police, from 1997 to 2019.
These settlements spanned issues like discrimination, harassment, unequal pay, and retaliation. Previously, there was speculation regarding a substantial portion of that $18 million being directed toward sexual misconduct claims, as discussed in a 2019 report.
Luna commented on X, asserting, “Taxpayer dollars were used for sexual harassment settlements from a Congressional slush fund,” reflecting a sentiment growing among some lawmakers.
The newspaper has reached out to Luna’s office for further remarks.
In the backdrop of these revelations, Congress faces an intense reckoning regarding sexual misconduct, especially after allegations emerged against former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) last month. Swalwell has since stepped back from his gubernatorial candidacy and resigned from Congress, although he denies any wrongdoing while admitting to some “errors in judgment,” including extramarital relations.
Similarly, former Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) is under scrutiny for sexting subordinates and faced mounting calls to resign after a tragic incident involving one of those individuals, which garnered widespread attention.
