House Ethics Committee probes multiple members as disclosure deadline nears

Taxpayers paid at least $550,000 to settle 7 sexual harassment cases involving former members of Congress between 1996 and 2018

$18.2 million in total taxpayer funds was paid out by the congressional workplace office across all workplace dispute categories between 1997 and 2019

H.Res. 1399 passed the House 420-0 on June 30, 2026, with one member voting 'present'

The House Ethics Committee told the Washington Times it has no records of any sexual harassment settlements involving members since the 2018 reform law took effect

The 2018 reform law ended taxpayer funding of member sexual harassment settlements and required personal repayment to the Treasury within 90 days — but at least 23 pre-reform case files were destroyed under an OCWR records retention policy