You're providing the hush money for congressional sexual harassment
Ending this insane practice would probably be the most unifying issue in America — if Congress could bear to take it up, that is
The last news story I read before taking that most American of four-day reprieves from anything to do with politics or world affairs was illustrated with an image of the massive white belly of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) staring out at me like the abdomen of some great and hideous spider. This picture, apparently taken from nature, was allegedly sent by the congressman to a woman whom he later allegedly threatened with an investigation by the Capitol Police Force and the FBI should she choose to share it with the American people.
The news of Barton's ridiculous ultimatum came only a few weeks after a report from The Washington Post revealed that in the last decade Congress has paid out more than $17 million in settlements related to the violation of workplace regulations, including sexual harassment. Meanwhile, with Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) simultaneously ashamed of various incidents and uncertain of their ever having taken place and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) trying to explain away a $27,000 payment to a staffer fired after refusing to yield to his advances, leaders of both parties find themselves under pressure to make all the facts known about these and similar cases on Capitol Hill.
What a no-brainer.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This, as those of us in the column-writing line never tire of pointing out, is a divided country. But if there is one issue that can unite all Americans — Republican and Democrat, conservative and progressive, libertarian and socialist, believer and atheist, Catholic and Protestant, dog owner and cat owner, Wolverine and Buckeye — it is the principle that sexual harassment carried out by members of Congress and their staff should not be kept secret and that it is not the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for it.
It is difficult to think of any information whose disclosure would be more in the public interest than the knowledge that Rep. Blueblazer McEntrepreneurship or Sen. Wokeman Goldflake or trusted members of their respective entourages harassed or even assaulted women. How it ever came to pass that such cases were not made immediately available to the public is one of those extraordinary mysteries that only Washington could produce.
This is not an argument against compensating victims (though as it happens I think we are due for a serious discussion about the benefits of a system that allows those with money to paper over accusations again and again, obscuring what should be an obvious pattern) but against the absurd idea that elected officials are like employees of a major corporation, one with certain responsibilities to employees that ultimately fall upon shareholders. Today's elected officials are not stolid Ciceronian statesmen in a constitutional republic; they are professional fundraisers, people who glad-hand and beg for a living. They have plenty of money, and like the rest of us, they should be responsible for paying for their own crimes. Even if it's not sitting there in the campaign coffers, surely their paymasters on Wall Street can be counted on. Sexual harassment in Congress is an open secret. Surely for the donor class the spiritual and emotional well-being of a few score women have long been regarded as the price of securing tax cuts or seeing their preferred financial regulations passed.
Recent legislation introduced in the House by a bipartisan group of (mostly female) representatives does not go nearly far enough. Transparency requirements making sexual harassment cases in Congress public should apply retroactively, not just to those dating from 2017 onward — it does us no good to try applying the rules to unknown individuals who obviously don't care about them. The name of any member of Congress who has authorized payment in response to a sexual harassment claim should be public knowledge. Nor should any future payments come on the taxpayer's dime. The treasury didn't bail out Harvey Weinstein, and it shouldn't put the rest of us on the hook for the crimes of perverts who just happen to have "Rep" or "Sen" in front of their names. Last of all, mandatory "training" is a dead end. If you have made it far enough in life to be elected to one of the highest offices in the land without knowing that it's not okay to show your genitals to interns in an elevator, a PowerPoint presentation isn't going to make things any less murky for you.
If Congress could pass a bill like this and President Trump sign it into law, it would be the only useful thing to have happened in D.C. this year. It would also be supported universally.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.
-
Baltimore bridge disaster: Who is going to pay and how?
Today's Big Question Politicians, legal experts, and the insurance industry are all grappling with the financial fallout of America's worst infrastructure tragedy in years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Stick guitar
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published