Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) announced on Tuesday that she would introduce legislation to require members of Congress to take a sexual harassment prevention class following the news Monday that Rep. Vance McAllister (R-LA) was caught kissing one of his staffers.
“This is the House of Representatives not a frat house. Regrettably, another of my colleagues, Congressman Vance McAllister, was revealed to have engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of his staff,” Speier said in a statement about the legislation.
“It is time for all of us to get trained — elected officials and their staffs — to recognize what sexual harassment is, and how to prevent it, and what to do if it happens. The House of Representatives should not be above the law.”
In the statement, Speier’s office notes that sexual harassment training is required in executive branch offices, but not for members of Congress.
According to a Southern California Public Radio report, sexual harassment is mentioned during training for members of Congress, but lawmakers don’t receive any additional training.
Lawmakers set sexual harassment policies for their own offices, and the Office of Employment Counsel will sometimes require training, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner told Southern California Public Radio.
