I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4503 

To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to prohibit the 

imposition of nondisclosure agreements as a condition of the payment 

of an award or settlement in connection with a violation of such Act, 

to require Members of Congress to reimburse the Treasury for amounts 

paid as awards and settlements under such Act in cases of sexual 

harassment and sexual assault, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 

Mr. MESSER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on 

Oversight and Government Reform, and Ways and Means, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to 

prohibit the imposition of nondisclosure agreements as 

a condition of the payment of an award or settlement 

in connection with a violation of such Act, to require 

Members of Congress to reimburse the Treasury for 

amounts paid as awards and settlements under such 

Act in cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Victims 

3 of Sexual Misconduct Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING IMPOSITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF 

5 CERTAIN NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS IN6 VOLVING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS AS CONDITION

8 OF AWARD OR SETTLEMENT UNDER CONGRESSIONAL AC9 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— 

10 (1) PROHIBITION.—Section 401 of the Congres11 sional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1401) 

12 is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘Except as otherwise pro14 vided’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) PROCEDURES AVAIL15 ABLE.—Except as otherwise provided’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

17 subsection: 

18 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF NONDISCLOSURE

19 AGREEMENTS.—A nondisclosure agreement may not be 

20 imposed on any party as a condition of the payment of 

21 any award or settlement in connection with a violation of 

22 part A of title II.’’. 

23 (2) PERMITTING INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO EX24 ISTING NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS TO MAKE IN25 FORMATION PUBLIC.—Any individual who received 

26 an award or settlement prior to the date of the enVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 02, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4503.IH H4503

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1 actment of this Act in connection with a violation of 

2 part A of title II of the Congressional Accountability 

3 Act of 1995 and who signed a nondisclosure agree4 ment as a condition of receiving the award or settle5 ment may, notwithstanding the terms of the agree6 ment, make public any information relating to the 

7 award or settlement. 

8 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

9 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to awards 

10 and settlements paid in connection with the Con11 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 on or after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (b) OTHER NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS INVOLV14 ING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR SEXUAL

15 ASSAULT.— 

16 (1) PROHIBITING ENFORCEMENT OF AGREE17 MENT AGAINST VICTIM.—Any individual who entered 

18 into a nondisclosure agreement as a condition of re19 ceiving a settlement in connection with an allegation 

20 of sexual misconduct committed by another indi21 vidual who, at the time of the agreement, was a 

22 Member of Congress, may make public any informa23 tion relating to the settlement or the allegation, not24 withstanding the terms of the agreement. 


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1 (2) SEXUAL MISCONDUCT DEFINED.—In this 

2 subsection, the term ‘‘sexual misconduct’’ means any 

3 of the following: 

4 (A) Any act which would be rape under 

5 section 920(a) of title 10, United States Code, 

6 if committed by an individual subject to chapter 

7 47 of such title (commonly referred to as the 

8 Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

9 (B) Any act which would be sexual assault 

10 under section 920(b) of title 10, United States 

11 Code, if committed by an individual subject to 

12 chapter 47 of such title. 

13 (C) Sexual harassment, as described in 

14 section 1604.11 of title 29, Code of Federal 

15 Regulations. 

16 (3) MEMBER OF CONGRESS DEFINED.—In this 

17 subsection, a ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means any of 

18 the following individuals: 

19 (A) A Member of the House of Represent20 atives, including a Delegate or Resident Com21 missioner to the Congress. 

22 (B) A Senator. 

23 (C) An individual who, for purposes of the 

24 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, is a 

25 candidate for election for the office of Member 


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1 of the House of Representatives (including the 

2 office of a Delegate or Resident Commissioner 

3 to the Congress) or the office of Senator. 

4 SEC. 3. PERSONAL LIABILITY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

5 TO REIMBURSE TREASURY FOR AMOUNTS 

6 PAID AS SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS IN 

7 CASES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR SEXUAL 

8 ASSAULT. 

9 (a) MANDATING REIMBURSEMENT OF AMOUNTS

10 PAID.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 415 of the Congres12 sional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1415) 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 subsection: 

15 ‘‘(d) PERSONAL LIABILITY OF MEMBERS OF CON16 GRESS FOR PAYMENT OF SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a payment is made from 

18 the account described in subsection (a) for an award 

19 or settlement resulting from a violation of part A of 

20 title II consisting of an act of sexual harassment or 

21 sexual assault committed by a Member of the House 

22 of Representatives or a Senator, the Member or Sen23 ator shall reimburse the account for the amount of 

24 the award or settlement. 


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1 ‘‘(2) WITHHOLDING AMOUNTS FROM SALARY.— 

2 If, by the expiration of the 90-day period which be3 gins on the date a payment is made from the ac4 count described in subsection (a) for an award or 

5 settlement described in paragraph (1), a Member or 

6 Senator has not reimbursed the account as required 

7 under paragraph (1), the payroll administrator shall 

8 withhold from the Member’s or Senator’s compensa9 tion and transfer to the account described in sub10 section (a) such amounts as may be necessary to re11 imburse the account for the payment, in accordance 

12 with such timetable and procedures as may be estab13 lished by— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Committee on House Administra15 tion of the House of Representatives, in the 

16 case of a Member of the House; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Rules and Admin18 istration of the Senate, in the case of a Sen19 ator. 

20 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION TO OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

21 MANAGEMENT AND SECRETARY OF THE TREAS22 URY.—If, at the time an individual is first no longer 

23 receiving compensation as a Member or a Senator, 

24 the amounts withheld under this subsection have not 

25 been sufficient to reimburse the account described in 


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1 subsection (a) for an award or settlement described 

2 in paragraph (1), the payroll administrator— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall notify the Director of the Office 

4 of Personnel Management, who shall take such 

5 actions as the Director considers appropriate to 

6 withhold from any annuity payable to the indi7 vidual under chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 

8 5, United States Code, and transfer to the ac9 count described in subsection (a), such amounts 

10 as may be necessary to reimburse the account 

11 for the payment; and 

12 ‘‘(B) shall notify the Secretary of the 

13 Treasury, who (if necessary) shall take such ac14 tions as the Secretary of the Treasury considers 

15 appropriate to withhold from any payment to 

16 the individual under title II of the Social Secu17 rity Act and transfer to the account described 

18 in subsection (a), such amounts as may be nec19 essary to reimburse the account for the pay20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION BETWEEN OPM AND

22 TREASURY.—The Director of the Office of Personnel 

23 Management and the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

24 carry out paragraph (3) in a manner that ensures 

25 the coordination of the withholding and transferring 


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1 of amounts under such paragraph, in accordance 

2 with regulations promulgated by the Director and 

3 the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(5) PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED.—In 

5 this section, the term ‘payroll administrator’ 

6 means— 

7 ‘‘(A) in the case of a Member of the House 

8 of Representatives, the Chief Administrative Of9 ficer of the House of Representatives, or an em10 ployee of the Office of the Chief Administrative 

11 Officer who is designated by the Chief Adminis12 trative Officer to carry out this subsection; or 

13 ‘‘(B) in the case of a Senator, the Sec14 retary of the Senate, or an employee of the Of15 fice of the Secretary of the Senate who is des16 ignated by the Secretary to carry out this sub17 section.’’. 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

19 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to pay20 ments made on or after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act. 

22 (b) REIMBURSEMENT OF AMOUNTS PAID PRE23 VIOUSLY.— 

24 (1) REQUIRING REIMBURSEMENT.—If, prior to 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, a payment 


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1 was made from the account described in section 

2 415(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 

3 1995 for an award or settlement resulting from a 

4 violation of part A of title II of such Act consisting 

5 of an act of sexual harassment or sexual assault 

6 committed by an individual who, at the time of com7 mitting the act, was a Member of the House of Rep8 resentatives or a Senator, the individual shall reim9 burse the account for the amount of the award or 

10 settlement. 

11 (2) WITHHOLDING OF AMOUNTS IN EVENT OF

12 FAILURE TO REIMBURSE.—If, by the expiration of 

13 the 90-day period which begins on the date of the 

14 enactment of this Act, an individual has not met the 

15 requirements of paragraph (1), the individual shall 

16 be subject to withholding of amounts as follows: 

17 (A) If the individual is a Member of the 

18 House of Representatives or a Senator, the pay19 roll administrator shall withhold from the indi20 vidual’s compensation and transfer to the ac21 count described in paragraph (1) such amounts 

22 as may be necessary to reimburse the account 

23 for the payment, in the same manner provided 

24 under paragraph (2) of section 415(d) of such 

25 Act (as added by subsection (a)). 


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1 (B) If the individual is not a Member of 

2 the House of Representatives or a Senator— 

3 (i) the Director of the Office of Per4 sonnel Management shall withhold from 

5 any annuity payable to the individual 

6 under chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, 

7 United States Code, and transfer to the 

8 account described in paragraph (1), such 

9 amounts as may be necessary to reimburse 

10 the account for the payment, in the same 

11 manner and subject to the same regula12 tions provided under paragraph (3) of sec13 tion 415(d) of such Act (as added by sub14 section (a)); and 

15 (ii) if necessary, the Secretary of the 

16 Treasury shall withhold from any payment 

17 to the individual under title II of the Social 

18 Security Act and transfer to the account 

19 described in paragraph (1), such amounts 

20 as may be necessary to reimburse the ac21 count for the payment, in the same man22 ner and subject to the same regulations 

23 provided under paragraph (3) of section 

24 415(d) of such Act (as added by subsection 

25 (a)). 


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1 (3) NOTIFICATIONS BY OFFICE OF COMPLI2 ANCE.—As soon as practicable after the date of the 

3 enactment of this Act, the Office of Compliance shall 

4 submit a notice to each of the following that a pay5 ment described in paragraph (1) was made, includ6 ing the amount of the payment: 

7 (A) The individual who is required to reim8 burse the amount of the payment under this 

9 subsection. 

10 (B) The payroll administrator. 

11 (C) The Director of the Office of Personnel 

12 Management. 

13 (D) The Secretary of the Treasury. 

14 (4) PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED.—In 

15 this subsection, the term ‘‘payroll administrator’’ 

16 has the meaning given such term in section 

17 415(d)(5) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 

18 1995, as added by subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 4. GAO AUDIT AND REPORT ON AMOUNTS USED TO 

20 PAY AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS. 

21 (a) AUDIT AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

23 General of the United States shall conduct and submit an 

24 audit and report on the use of public funds, including the 

25 account described in section 415(a) of the Congressional 


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1 Accountability Act of 1995, the Members’ Representa2 tional Allowance, and other accounts of the House of Rep3 resentatives or Senate, to make payments of awards and 

4 settlements resulting from a violation of part A of title 

5 II of such Act consisting of an act of sexual harassment 

6 or sexual assault which was committed by a Member of 

7 the House of Representatives or a Senator. The report 

8 shall include the following information: 

9 (1) A description of each violation involved. 

10 (2) The identification of the office of the Mem11 ber or Senator involved. 

12 (3) The amount of the award or settlement. 

13 (b) PROTECTION OF IDENTITY OF INDIVIDUALS RE14 CEIVING AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS.—In preparing and 

15 submitting the audit and report required under this sec16 tion, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

17 ensure that the identity of any individual who received an 

18 award or settlement, or who made an allegation of a viola19 tion against an office of a Member or Senator, is not dis20 closed and may not otherwise be determined. 

21 (c) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—The Office of Compliance, 

22 the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Rep23 resentatives, and the Secretary of the Senate shall each 

24 ensure that the Comptroller General of the United States 


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1 has sufficient access to the records and accounts necessary 

2 for the Comptroller General to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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