James Love: “I would like to thank Chairman Harper and also Ranking Member Brady for including the STOP Act in the House…”

“I would like to thank Chairman Harper and also Ranking Member Brady for including the STOP Act in the House Administration legislation. Shockingly, the Office of Compliance confirms that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been paid with taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment cases against Members of Congress. I am pleased to say that the bill that is before us today incorporates a bill that I introduced last December to stop this practice, H.R. 4674. The Stop Taxpayers Obligations to Perpetrators of Sexual Harassment Act will require Members of Congress to pay back any taxpayer money used to settle sexual harassment cases. Victims will be compensated, but taxpayers won't be footing the bill. This bill promotes and supports due process. It sends a message that there isn't a set fund out there paid for by the taxpayer ready for someone to access, but it also doesn't encourage a Member who feels that they have done nothing wrong to settle so an issue can just go away. If a Member of Congress behaves badly, the consequences of those actions are that person's responsibility, not the taxpayers'. I believe that Members should live by the laws that they create and the taxpayers should not be responsible for inappropriate behavior. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill.”