Sponsors (12)
The bill shifts financial responsibility for congressional workplace-misconduct settlements away from taxpayers and increases transparency and enforcement, but it risks reducing victims' practical ability to collect awards, raising administrative and litigation costs, and creating privacy/reputational and enforcement trade-offs.
Taxpayers: the bill stops routine use of public funds to pay workplace-misconduct settlements by Members and senior staff and shifts financial responsibility to those offices or individuals, reducing direct taxpayer exposure.
Public and oversight bodies: creates searchable, timely public disclosure (current and historic) of settlements, amounts, dates, and claim types, improving transparency and public accountability for congressional workplace behavior.
Victims and complainants: the bill contains explicit privacy protections (limits on publishing PII and sex, consent requirements for identity disclosure) so survivors' identities and sensitive details are broadly protected while allowing disclosure of settlement metadata.
Victims and claimants: if Members or small congressional offices are required to pay settlements themselves but lack the ability to pay, winning plaintiffs may be unable to collect damages, reducing access to meaningful remedies.
Claimants, courts, offices, and taxpayers: shifting financial burdens to individuals or offices can deter settlements, prolong litigation, increase legal costs for claimants and defendants, and raise burdens on courts and (indirectly) taxpayers.
Victims and accused staff/Members: public naming and publication of settlement amounts can harm reputations, deter negotiated resolutions, invite additional litigation to avoid disclosure, and still risk re-identifying victims despite privacy safeguards.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Bars federal funds from paying workplace-misconduct settlements for Members or senior staff, requires personal payment and public disclosure, mandates DOJ referrals, and imposes civil penalties.
Official title: To prohibit the use of taxpayer funds for settlements of workplace misconduct claims involving Members of Congress or senior staff of the House of Representatives or the Senate, require personal financial accountability, ensure transparency of past settlements while protecting victims, and mandate referral of criminal allegations to the Department of Justice, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 15, 2026 by Paul Gosar · Last progress April 15, 2026
Prohibits federal funds from paying settlements, awards, or judgments that arise from workplace misconduct claims involving Members of Congress or defined senior House or Senate staff and requires those individuals to pay such amounts personally. It creates a public searchable database of resolved claims, mandates historic disclosure of past public-funded settlements involving lawmakers or senior staff since 1995, requires referrals of potential criminal conduct to the Department of Justice, and establishes civil penalties and enforcement tools for violations. The bill also bars nondisclosure agreements from blocking DOJ referrals, protects victim privacy unless the victim consents to disclosure, and requires certification (under penalty of perjury) that public or campaign funds were not used to satisfy such claims. It applies on enactment to claims pending on or after that date.