This bill would stop the use of U.S. Treasury money to pay settlements, awards, or judgments from workplace misconduct claims involving Members of Congress or senior congressional staff. It would require those Members or senior staff found liable or who settle such claims to pay the full amount themselves. The bill would also require a public, searchable database listing names of covered officials, amounts, dates, and general claim types while protecting victims' personal information. Criminal allegations that may violate Federal law must be referred to the Department of Justice. The bill sets civil penalties for violations and lets the Attorney General sue to enforce the law.
If you are a Member of Congress or senior congressional staff: you could be personally responsible for paying settlements or awards from workplace misconduct claims, and you must certify no public funds were used. If you are a member of the public: you would have public access to a searchable listing of settled or decided workplace misconduct claims involving covered officials, without victim names.
The bill prohibits using Treasury funds to pay covered settlements and shifts payment responsibility to the individual Member or senior staff. No publicly available information on overall budget effects, administrative costs for creating or maintaining the database, or enforcement costs is provided in the bill text.
The bill's text states it aims to prevent taxpayer dollars from paying workplace-misconduct settlements involving lawmakers or senior staff, require personal financial accountability, increase transparency about past and future settlements while protecting victim identities, and ensure possible crimes are referred to the Department of Justice.
No publicly available information.