House Ethics panel issues rare statement committing to helping secure a sexual harassment-free workplace

The bipartisan House Ethics Committee released a statement Monday calling for victims of sexual misconduct to report their accusations to congressional authorities — and affirming its commitment to “maintaining a congressional workplace free from” sexual harassment, abuse and assault.

“There should be zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, harassment, or discrimination in the halls of Congress, or in any employment setting,” the committee members said.

It’s an unusual public-facing step from a panel that operates overwhelmingly behind closed doors, but comes amid renewed scrutiny over how Congress polices its own members for impropriety: Just under one week ago, then-Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) resigned following allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with, or sexual assault of, former staffers.

In the wake of the Gonzales allegations that emerged earlier this year, the House was poised to vote on a measure from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) that would have forced the release of sexual harassment claims against lawmakers. The House Ethics Committee’s bipartisan leadership took the unusual step of releasing a statement condemning the resolution, with Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) arguing it would have a chilling effect for victims.

The full chamber voted to refer the resolution to the House Ethics Committee, which would effectively kill the effort.

“The greatest hurdle the Committee faces in evaluating allegations of sexual misconduct is in convincing the most vulnerable witnesses to share their stories,” the members said in their statement Monday. “Accordingly, the Committee’s practice has been to release only the information that is necessary to hold Members accountable for misconduct and address public reporting that impacts the integrity of the House.”

Members of the committee noted that their panel does not have the authority to handle lawsuits related to sexual misconduct allegations.

“Anyone who may have experienced sexual misconduct by a House member or staffer, or who has knowledge of such conduct” should contact not only the Ethics panel, members said Monday, but also the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights — which handles claims from legislative branch staffers who may have experienced misconduct — or the Office of Employee Advocacy — which provides legal services to House staffers who may be bringing those claims.

The panel also on Monday released a listof 28 instanceswhere the panel investigated members for allegations of sexual misconduct, going all the way back to 1976.

In about a dozen of these cases, the investigations ended when there was a “loss of jurisdiction,” meaning the lawmaker departed Congress and the committee no longer had standing to conclude its work.

The list includes just one ongoing probe: one relating to Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who has been accused of various improprieties, including illicitly engaging in federal contracts while in federal office. The Ethics list noted that the inquiry involves allegations of “Sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.” He also has been accused by a former girlfriend of threatening to release her nude videos; Mills has denied the allegations.

“Over the last decade, the Committee has adopted a more aggressive and robust approach to allegations of sexual misconduct,” the Ethics Committee said. “Since 2017, the Committee has initiated investigations in 20 matters involving allegations of sexual misconduct by a Member. The Committee has also investigated several Members for their handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by their senior staff.”