Title: To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to prohibit the use of public funds for the payment of a settlement or award under such Act in connection with a claim arising from sexual harassment committed by a Member of Congress, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to (1) prohibit the use of federal funds for the payment of a settlement or award for a claim arising from sexual harassment committed by a Member of Congress, and (2) require congressional ethics committees to consider expulsion of Members who have committed acts of sexual harassment.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4458 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4458

 To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to prohibit the 
use of public funds for the payment of a settlement or award under such 
Act in connection with a claim arising from sexual harassment committed 
            by a Member of Congress, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 28, 2017

  Mr. Marino introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Rules, 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 
use of public funds for the payment of a settlement or award under such 
Act in connection with a claim arising from sexual harassment committed 
            by a Member of Congress, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. PROHIBITING USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PAYMENT OF SETTLEMENTS 
              AND AWARDS UNDER CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT IN 
              SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS INVOLVING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Prohibition.--Section 415 of the Congressional Accountability 
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1415) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection (c)'' and 
        inserting ``subsections (c) and (d)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) No Use of Public Funds for Payments of Awards and Settlements 
in Connection With Acts of Sexual Harassment Committed by Members of 
Congress.--No funds of the Treasury of the United States may be used 
for the payment of an award or settlement under this Act in connection 
with a violation of section 201(a)(1) if the violation consists of an 
act of sexual harassment committed personally by a Member of the House 
of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to 
the Congress) or a Senator.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to settlements and awards paid on or after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY CONSIDERATION BY ETHICS COMMITTEES OF EXPULSION OF 
              MEMBERS OF CONGRESS COMMITTING ACTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT 
              UNDER CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.

    (a) Mandatory Consideration of Question of Expulsion.--Title V of 
the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 509 as section 510; and
            (2) by inserting after section 508 the following new 
        section:

``SEC. 509. MANDATORY CONSIDERATION BY ETHICS COMMITTEES OF QUESTION OF 
              EXPULSION OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS COMMITTING ACTS OF 
              SEXUAL HARASSMENT.

    ``If it is determined in any final decision entered under section 
405(g) or 406(e), or in any decision in a civil action brought under 
section 408, that a violation of section 201(a)(1) occurred which 
consisted of an act of sexual harassment committed personally by a 
Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or 
Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or a Senator, or if the payment 
of an award or settlement under this Act is ordered in connection with 
a violation of section 201(a)(1) which consists of such an act--
            ``(1) in the case of an act committed by a Member of the 
        House, the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives 
        shall conduct an investigation and issue a report on the 
        question of whether the Member should be expelled from the 
        House; or
            ``(2) in the case of an act committed by a Senator, the 
        Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate shall conduct an 
        investigation and issue a report on the question of whether the 
        Senator should be expelled from the Senate.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating the item relating to section 509 as 
        relating to section 510; and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 508 the 
        following new item:

``Sec. 509. Mandatory consideration by ethics committees of question of 
                            expulsion of Members of Congress committing 
                            acts of sexual harassment.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to acts occurring before, on, or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
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