Sponsors (13)
Introduced April 13, 2026 by Stephanie I. Bice · Last progress April 13, 2026
The bill increases transparency, accountability, and protections for House staff — benefitting taxpayers and employees — but does so at the cost of potential privacy and due‑process harms for Members, possible operational disruptions, politicized enforcement risks, and added administrative burdens.
House employees (including women and people with disabilities) will have stronger protections from employment discrimination and sexual harassment by Members and House officials, reducing workplace abuse and power‑dynamic exploitation.
Taxpayers will gain greater transparency about taxpayer-funded reimbursements because Members and former Members who owe reimbursements will be publicly identified and enforcement notifications are centralized, creating clearer accountability and incentives to repay.
The bill affirms Members' obligation to follow House rules and strengthens internal accountability and institutional integrity, making it clearer that misconduct or financial obligations can trigger enforcement.
Members and former Members publicly named for unpaid reimbursements may face public humiliation and political backlash — raising privacy and due-process concerns, especially when amounts or disputes are unresolved.
Suspending committee and leadership duties for noncompliance could disrupt House operations and delay legislative business, harming constituents and slowing government functions.
Barring former Members from the House Hall until reimbursements are made could impede legitimate post-service access for constituent services, oversight, or other duties.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Mandates immediate distribution of OCWR reports to Members who owe reimbursements, requires public in‑chamber readings of names and repayment details, bars unpaid former Members from the Hall, and restates harassment prohibitions.
Requires the House Clerk and House Administration to immediately send Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) semiannual reports to any current or former Member who must repay the U.S. Treasury for a claim, and to the Sergeant-at-Arms. It forces named current Members to appear in the House well for a public reading of their name, repayment amounts, and status, with penalties (loss of committee and leadership duties) for noncompliance; bars former Members with unpaid reimbursements from entering the House until they repay and complete a similar public reading. The bill also reiterates and restates House rules banning sexual harassment, discrimination in hiring, and sexual relationships between Members and employees who report to them or work for committees they serve on.