Legislation Promised to Release Accusers from Privacy Agreements

Washington, D.C. - November 30, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- House Representative Luke Messer (R-IA, 6th) has promised that he will introduce legislation to help protect victims of sexual assault and harassment in Congress.

Messer’s bill would ensure victims aren’t silenced by non-disclosure agreements, and prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to settle sexual harassment claims with members of Congress.

“It’s not OK that taxpayer money is used to silence victims of sexual harassment,” Messer said. “If these victims want to tell their story, they should be empowered to do so.”

This effort by Messer follows recent reports that John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI, 13th) settled a sexual harassment complaint with a former staff member using taxpayer dollars. The Washington Post reports that the government has paid more than $17 million in taxpayer money over the last 20 years to settle sexual harassment claims and other workplace violations filed by employees of Congress.

Messer’s bill would release Congressional staff from current non-disclosure agreements signed as part of a sexual assault settlement with a Member of Congress, and prohibit non-disclosure agreements like this in the future. It would also prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to settle sexual harassment claims by a member of Congress or employee of the House or Senate.

Messer also supports the bipartisan Member and Employee Training and Oversight On Congress Act, which would make sexual harassment training mandatory for all members and staff.

Upon the allegations against John Conyers, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal called for Conyers to resign, saying, “The actions and subsequent deflections from the growing tide of sexual harassment cases in Congress not only hurt individual women, but they undermine our institution of democracy. For justice to be done in cases with substantial evidence, a simple denial is not sufficient; the relinquishment of power becomes essential. It is not easy for me to reach this conclusion because, as a civil rights activist, I have looked up to Rep. Conyers for decades. I believe these women, I see the pattern and there is only one conclusion – Mr. Conyers must resign.”

Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY, 4th) has called on Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI, 1st) to intervene in the case of a former employee who accused Rep. John Conyers, Jr. of unwanted sexual advances, and release her from the confidentiality agreement that she was forced to sign as part of a settlement. In a letter sent to Ryan Rice wrote:

“Under the settlement, the complainant was forced into a non-disclosure agreement and has been unable to openly discuss the workplace harassment and abuse she was subjected to, while Rep. Conyers and his attorney, Arnold Reed, have been free to make their case to the public. Three additional women (Maria Reddick, Melanie Sloan, and Deanna Maher) have been able to speak publicly about harassment by Rep. Conyers because they chose not to pursue a complaint through a system that is now universally acknowledged to be stacked against the victim.

“The accuser who attempted to seek help through a deeply flawed system should not continue to be silenced by the institution that failed to protect her in the first place.”

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