Congress paid out $265,000 in taxpayer funds to settle claims of sexual harassment or discrimination over a decade, according to new data released by a House committee.
A total of ten different claims by congressional payouts brought settlement payments from the Office of Compliance, which doles out funds when staff employees bring work-related claims against members of Congress.
When other types of complaints are included, the total hit $700,000, the Washington Times reported.
The information was released by the House Administration committee, chaired by GOP Rep. Greg Harper of Mississippi.
Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the Capitol, October 27, 2015. His office paid out $84,000 to a former aide who accused him of harrassment. Farenthold announced his retirement at the end of his term
One of those claims was revealed to be an $84,000 payment paid to settle a harassment claim against Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, who announced this month he will not seek reelection following a series of allegations about what aides said was a hostile work environment in his congressional office.
He was sued by former communications director Lauren Green in 2014.
The latest data includes claims from 2008 to 2012, adding to more recent data already made available.
Discrimination claims against lawmakers’ offices during those years totaled $342,000, according to Harper.
The accusers and the offices that pid out thousands of dollars remain anonymous, a system that critics have said protects lawmakers amid a wave of revelations of sexual harassment by figures in politics, entertainment, and the media.
Among the claims were one for ‘sex discrimination, retaliation’ and a labor law violation, with a payment of $15,225.
COST OF DISCRIMINATION: The financial payouts from a congressional fund for discrimination claims
A sexual harassment and harassment because of retaliation brought an $85,000 claim.
A sex, race, retaliation, and labor claim cost taxpayers $15,907.52.
“As I have stated from the beginning of this review, one case of sexual harassment is one case too many,’ said Rep. Harper in a statement releasing the new data.
‘We must create a culture within our Capitol Hill community that instills in every employee and employer, new and old, that there is no place for sexual harassment in the halls of Congress,’ he added.
Harper sought a breakdown for all violations of the Congressional Accountability Act, the law governing congressional offices and employees.
The information was released by the office of Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., who chairs the House Administration Committee
‘We will continue to investigate the OOC’s record keeping practices as part of our extensive review,’ he said.
Over two decades, the office paid out a total of $17 million in settlements. The office noted such payments included for the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standard Act, and disability laws.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has also noted that the office paid out claims following the Anthrax attack on Capitol offices. There also have been asbestos claims.