Title: To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to prohibit the use of public funds to make payments of awards and settlements in connection with violations of such Act which are committed by employing offices of the House of Representatives and Senate, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to prohibit the use of public funds for payments of awards or settlements in connection with certain CAA violations of employees' rights and protections by employing offices of the House of Representatives or of the Senate.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4481 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4481

 To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to prohibit the 
   use of public funds to make payments of awards and settlements in 
connection with violations of such Act which are committed by employing 
   offices of the House of Representatives and Senate, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 29, 2017

  Mr. Lance introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to prohibit the 
   use of public funds to make payments of awards and settlements in 
connection with violations of such Act which are committed by employing 
   offices of the House of Representatives and Senate, 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 TO PAY SETTLEMENTS AND 
              AWARDS FOR CLAIMS UNDER CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 
              OF 1995 INVOLVING EMPLOYING OFFICES OF HOUSE AND SENATE.

    (a) Prohibition.--
            (1) In general.--Section 415 of the Congressional 
        Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1415) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection 
                (c)'' and inserting ``subsections (c) and (d)''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(d) No Use of Public Funds for Payments of Awards and Settlements 
Involving Employing Offices of House or Senate.--No funds of the 
Treasury of the United States, including the account described in 
subsection (a), an account of the House of Representatives or Senate, 
or any other account of the Federal Government, may be used for the 
payment of an award or settlement in connection with a violation of 
section 201(a)(1) by an employing office of the House of 
Representatives or an employing office of the Senate.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to settlements and awards paid on or 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Report on Amounts Previously Paid.--
            (1) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Office of Compliance shall submit to 
        Congress and make available to the public on the Office's 
        public website a report on all payments made with public funds 
        prior to the date of the enactment of this Act for awards and 
        settlements in connection with violations of section 201(a)(1) 
        of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 by employing 
        offices of the House of Representatives and employing offices 
        of the Senate, and shall include in the report the following 
        information:
                    (A) The amount paid for each such award or 
                settlement.
                    (B) The source of the public funds used for the 
                award or settlement, without regard to whether the 
                funds were paid from the account described in section 
                415(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1415(a)), an account of 
                the House of Representatives or Senate, or any other 
                account of the Federal Government.
                    (C) The identification of the employing office 
                involved and any individual who committed the violation 
                involved.
            (2) Protection of identity of individuals receiving awards 
        and settlements.--In preparing and submitting the report 
        required under this subsection, the Office of Compliance shall 
        ensure that the identity of any individual who received an 
        award or settlement, or who made an allegation of a violation 
        against an employing office, is not disclosed.
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