Two Republican senators have joined with a Democrat to propose a resolution requiring Capitol Hill staffers to undergo sexual harassment training and updating the procedures for reporting and addressing harassment complaints, Politico reported Wednesday evening.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the chair of the Senate Rules Committee, are the Republicans leading the effort, and they have recruited Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) as a Democratic sponsor, according to Politico.
Capito told Politico that their resolution will have similarities to a proposal from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) mandating sexual harassment training, but will go further in that it will make changes to the way complaints are handled.
“It goes a little further but it’s a little tighter in terms of how the rules would change to meet the demands of where we are now,” she said.
Capito also told Politico that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “is fully on board.”
Sexual harassment policies on Capitol Hill have come under scrutiny after several high profile figures like Harvey Weinstein have faced public allegations of sexual misconduct.
Congress does not currently mandate that all staffers receive sexual harassment training, and rules require those alleging harassment to sit for mediation or counseling before actually filing a formal complaint.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) raised concerns about Capitol Hill’s policies for addressing sexual harassment in October, calling the current system “toothless.” She also plans to introduce legislation to update the way complaints are handled.
Women of today appear to be sending quite the signal - ENOUGH! Old adage rings true; behavior towards women in society should reflect the respect and dignity you would afford your Mother, Sister and daughter.
Exposing harassment starts an overdue discussion in America.
Trump: I will never sign this warrant targeted specifically at me. No one can regulate my behavior.
I’m surprised they don’t all have to sit through the training to begin with. I think every other federal employee is required to take the classes.
But even if they do take them, the classes are simply CYA for the organization. The people who are predators are still going to behave in reprehensible ways. I’ve seen people take the class one day and the next day they are back to being total slimeballs, and not in a sarcastic way.
The training doesn’t do anything but check a box. They need to fix the way they react to the behavior. Hopefully the new rules will do that, but I suspect they will get watered down in the process.
And when they’ve got the new guidelines they’ll enforce them as aggressively as they enforce the Ethics rules.
Talk about posturing…
Solution? Vote 'em out.
Last month Sen. Hirono (D-Hawaii) tweeted, “Pretty much every woman that I know, myself included, has a #MeToo story.”
Sounds about right to me.