(4) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 
by the Chief Administrative Officer only for cause. 
(e) OTHER PERSONNEL.—Subject to regulations of 
the Committee on House Administration and with the ap-
proval of the Chief Administrative Officer, the Director 
may appoint and fix the compensation of such additional 
personnel as the Director determines to be necessary to 
carry out the functions of the Office. 
(f) NONPARTISANSHIP OF POSITIONS.—The Director 
and the other personnel of the Office shall be appointed 
without regard to political affiliation and solely on the 
basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position. 
SEC. 403. FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE OF HOUSE EMPLOYMENT 
COUNSEL. 
(a) FUNCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The Office of the 
House Employment Counsel established under the Office 
of the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall carry 
out all of the functions which the Office carried out as 
of the date of the enactment of this Act, including the 
following: 
(1) Providing legal assistance and representa-
tion to employing offices of the House with respect 
to allegations, claims, and civil actions under the 
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 which are 
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brought by covered employees of the House under 
such Act. 
(2) Providing employing offices of the House 
with confidential advice and counseling regarding 
compliance with employment laws. 
(3) Providing training to managers and employ-
ees regarding employment law compliance. 
(b) NO EFFECT ON PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Noth-
ing in this section may be construed to affect any pro-
ceeding to which the Office is a party that is pending on 
the date of the enactment of this Act, including any suit 
to which the Office is a party that is commenced prior 
to such date. 
SEC. 404. REQUIRING INCLUSION OF CERTIFICATIONS ON 
PAYROLL AUTHORIZATION FORMS OF HOUSE 
OF REPRESENTATIVES OF NO CONNECTION 
BETWEEN PAYROLL ACTIONS AND CLAIMS 
RELATING TO CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNT-
ABILITY ACT OF 1995. 
(a) REQUIRING INCLUSION OF CERTIFICATION ON 
FORMS.—The Chief Administrative Officer of the House 
of Representatives shall incorporate, as part of the Payroll 
Authorization Form used by an office of the House to reg-
ister the appointment of an employee to the office or a 
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salary adjustment or title change with respect to an em-
ployee of the office— 
(1) a certification to be made by the author-
izing official of the office that the appointment, sal-
ary adjustment, or title change is not made to pay 
a settlement or award in connection with conduct 
prohibited under the Congressional Accountability 
Act of 1995; and 
(2) in the case of an office of a Member of the 
House, a certification by the Member that any 
amounts in the Members’ Representational Allow-
ance for the office which may be used to carry out 
the appointment, salary adjustment, or title change 
are not being used to pay a settlement or award in 
connection with conduct prohibited under such Act. 
(b) REQUIRING CERTIFICATION AS CONDITION OF 
PROCESSING PAYROLL ACTION.—The Chief Administra-
tive Officer may not process any Payroll Authorization 
Form with respect to an office of the House if the Form 
does not include the certifications required with respect 
to that office under subsection (a). 
SEC. 405. SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS VIOLATION OF HOUSE 
CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 
Clause 9 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives is amended by striking ‘‘such indi-
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vidual,’’ and inserting ‘‘such individual, including by com-
mitting an act of sexual harassment against such indi-
vidual,’’. 
SEC. 406. SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HOUSE MEM-
BERS AND EMPLOYEES AND UNWELCOME 
SEXUAL ADVANCES AS VIOLATION OF HOUSE 
CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 
Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives is amended— 
(1) by redesignating clause 18 as clause 19; 
and 
(2) by inserting after clause 17 the following 
new clause: 
‘‘18.(a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commis-
sioner may not engage in a sexual relationship with any 
employee of the House who works under the supervision 
of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner. This 
paragraph does not apply with respect to any relationship 
between two people who are married to each other. 
‘‘(b) A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, 
officer, or employee of the House may not engage in un-
welcome sexual advances or conduct towards another 
Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or em-
ployee of the House. 
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‘‘(c) In this clause, the term ‘employee’ includes an 
applicant for employment, a paid or unpaid intern (includ-
ing an applicant for an internship), a detailee, and an indi-
vidual participating in a fellowship program.’’. 
SEC. 407. EFFECT OF FILING OF CLAIM UNDER CONGRES-
SIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995 ON 
AUTHORITY OF OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL 
ETHICS TO CONSIDER CLAIMS. 
The Office of Congressional Ethics may not initiate 
or continue any investigation of a claim alleging a violation 
of law made applicable to employing offices of the House 
of Representatives under part A of title II of the Congres-
sional Accountability Act of 1995, or make any rec-
ommendations regarding the disposition of such a claim, 
if a covered employee files a claim with respect to the al-
leged violation under title IV of such Act. 
SEC. 409. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. 
The provisions of this title are enacted— 
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 
the House of Representatives, and as such they shall 
be considered as part of the rules of the House, and 
shall supersede other rules only to the extent that 
they are inconsistent therewith; and 
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 
right of the House to change such rules at any time, 
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in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 
the case of any other rule of the House. 
TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, this 
Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take ef-
fect upon the expiration of the 180-day period which be-
gins on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) NO EFFECT ON PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Noth-
ing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act may 
be construed to affect any proceeding under title IV of 
the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 which is 
pending as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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