US Congress paid $265K in Sexual Harassment Claims over last decade
By Jeffrey Rodack From Newsmax
More than $265,000 was paid out over the last decade by the congressional Office of Compliance to settle sexual harassment or sex discrimination claims, The Washington Times reported.
Congressional leaders had pushed for a public accounting of the money.
According to the Times, the money included 10 settlements from 2008 through November, 2017.
Some of the payouts had been made public previously. However, the numbers from 2008-2012 were released on Tuesday.
In all, $700,000 was paid out by the office to settle a variety of complaints against lawmakers for the last 10 years. About $342,000 was spent in the first 5 years and the remainder from 2013 through this year.
Names of the lawmakers involved in the settlements were not released.
The Washington Post reported Congress has been under increasing pressure to open up the secret process it uses to deal with sexual harassment cases brought against its members.
The newspaper said the typical payment is made under the promise of confidentiality to prevent an accuser from going public.
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IMAGE: AP
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