Jackie Speier: “I thank our ranking member, Mr. Brady, for his steadfast support on this issue; the chairman, Mr. Harper, who has moved…”

“I thank our ranking member, Mr. Brady, for his steadfast support on this issue; the chairman, Mr. Harper, who has moved swiftly to address this issue; and also my colleague, Congresswoman Comstock, for bringing this resolution to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I have been working on this issue since 2014. I am so delighted that we are here today taking up this measure. As we take this up, I hope that we remember that training must be more than an online module. It must be in person, interactive, specific to congressional workplace issues, and taken seriously. Today's bill is an important step in the right direction, but let's not fool ourselves. It is a baby step. Let us not, to paraphrase Shakespeare, tread the primrose path while leaving survivors to struggle the steep and thorny way to justice. We are in the midst of a cultural revolution. We are elected Representatives of the American people, and we must not hesitate to do what is needed to fix this broken system. Seventy percent of those who are sexually harassed never report it. They never report it. One woman came up to me as I was walking the Halls of Congress to thank me. She said that she was on this very floor working late in the evening on a particular bill. A Member came up behind her, grinding up against her, and then stuck his tongue in her ear. That happened on this floor, with Members probably standing around. So we do have a problem, and we must address it.…”