Taxpayers Paid $84,000 to End Sex Harassment Claim Against Texas Lawmaker
Representative Blake Farenthold, Republican of Texas, used $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim, one of six settlements for workplace issues ranging from veteran status discrimination to age bias that were paid out by a secretive congressional office since 2013.
The six settlements for malfeasance in House offices totaled $359,450.
House panel demands records of all settlements for sexual harassment in Congress
The ethics panel in the House of Representatives on Friday demanded records of all settlements for sexual harassment in the lower chamber of Congress.
The announcement comes amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct in politics and intense scrutiny over how such claims are handled on Capitol Hill.
It emerged last month that accusations of sexual harassment in Congress are overseen by the little-known Office of Compliance, which over two decades used roughly $17m in taxpayer dollars to pay out settlements and awards to federal employees.
On Friday, leaders on the House ethics committee called on the Office of Compliance to “promptly” hand over “all records … related to any claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or any other employment practice” prohibited under federal law.
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