--- title: GOP Rep. Says He'll Pay Back $84,000 Harassment Settlement description: Rep. Blake Farenthold says he "didn't do anything wrong," but "I also don't want the taxpayers to be on the hook for this." canonical: https://time.com/5048265/blake-farenthold-sexual-harassment-settlement/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-04T19:23:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:53.487Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congressman Says He Will Pay Back $84,000 Sexual Harassment Settlement og:description: But he's not admitting wrongdoing. og:url: https://time.com/5048265/blake-farenthold-sexual-harassment-settlement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7a9b27f5dbfcfa2/6988d6ed0a4a227df49cf2a5/blake-farenthold.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4344 og:image:height: 2444 og:image:alt: Rep. Blake Farenthold og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congressman Says He Will Pay Back $84,000 Sexual Harassment Settlement twitter:description: But he's not admitting wrongdoing. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7a9b27f5dbfcfa2/6988d6ed0a4a227df49cf2a5/blake-farenthold.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congressman Says He Will Pay Back $84,000 Sexual Harassment Settlement > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Any Type Of Sexual Harassment Can Cause Psychological Harm [Watch (HLS stream): Any Type Of Sexual Harassment Can Cause Psychological Harm](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ieqFRQHx.m3u8) (1:19)  _Published 2017-11-09. Any form of sexual harassment, whether verbal or physical, has the power to cause psychological harm, according to a new study._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 4, 2017 7:23 PM UTC  Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, leaves the House Republican Conference meeting in the basement of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, leaves the House Republican Conference meeting in the basement of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call,Inc./Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 4, 2017 7:23 PM UTC A Texas Congressman said Monday he would pay back the [$84,000 in taxpayer money](http://time.com/5045238/congress-sexual-harassment-settlements/) that was used to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed by a former employee. “Even though I was completely exonerated by \[the Office of Congressional Ethics\] and the settlement agreement has been paid, I am doing my best and am going to hand a check over this week to, probably Speaker Ryan or somebody, and say, look, here is the amount of my settlement. Give it back to the taxpayers,” Farenthold said in an interview with [KRIS-TV. ](http://www.kristv.com/story/36986394/farenthold-i-didnt-do-anything-wrong) In 2014, Rep. Blake Farenthold’s former communications director Lauren Greene sued alleging she’d been sexually harassed by the Congressman while working in his office. On Friday, [Politico reported](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/01/blake-farenthold-taxpayer-funds-sexual-harassment-274458) that Farenthold’s office used taxpayer money to pay off an $84,000 settlement that was reached in that case. Reached for [comment on Friday](http://time.com/5045238/congress-sexual-harassment-settlements/), neither Farenthold’s office nor an attorney for Greene confirmed nor denied that the report. “I want to be clear that I didn’t do anything wrong,” Farenthold said Monday. “But I also don’t want the taxpayers to be on the hook for this and I want to be able to talk about it and fix the system without people saying, ‘Blake, you benefitted from the system. You don’t have a right to talk about it or fix it.'” The issue of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill has been widely discussed in the wake of the allegations that were levied against [Harvey Weinstein](http://time.com/5015204/harvey-weinstein-scandal/). Both Houses of Congress are eager to show they are taking the issue seriously, even as their [own members](http://time.com/5046338/pelosi-says-nevada-lawmaker-should-resign/) face allegations of harassment and inappropriate touching. The House recently passed a resolution to mandate anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training for all staff and members, which many have called a good first step. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the House and the Senate to overhaul the process through which complaints are filed. That bill, known as the Me Too Congress Act, would also require members to pay back the amount of any award or settlement that is reached. [_The Hill_](http://thehill.com/homenews/house/362864-lawmakers-seek-end-to-taxpayer-backed-sexual-harassment-settlements?utm%5Fsource=&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=12404) reports that several additional bills were introduced to restrict the use of taxpayer money during settlements after it was reported that [Democratic Rep. John Conyers](http://time.com/5045815/john-conyers-resignation-sexual-misconduct/) had settled a sexual harassment claim a former staffer made against him. The Office of Compliance,the Congressional office that handles workplace complaints, has paid around $17 million in settlements. The money for those settlements comes from “an account of the Office in the Treasury on the United States for the payment of awards and settlement,” under the [1995 Congressional Accountability Act.](https://www.compliance.gov/sites/default/files/2017.11.16%20Awards%20And%20Settlements%20Appropriation.pdf) On Friday, it was revealed that around $306,000 have been paid out in claims made against six member’s offices in the House of Representatives [over the past five years](http://time.com/5045238/congress-sexual-harassment-settlements/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5048265/blake-farenthold-sexual-harassment-settlement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5048265/blake-farenthold-sexual-harassment-settlement/"},"headline":"Congressman Says He Will Pay Back $84,000 Sexual Harassment Settlement","datePublished":"2017-12-04T19:23:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:53.487Z","description":"But he's not admitting wrongdoing","url":"https://time.com/5048265/blake-farenthold-sexual-harassment-settlement/","keywords":["Congress","sexual harassment","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7a9b27f5dbfcfa2/6988d6ed0a4a227df49cf2a5/blake-farenthold.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7a9b27f5dbfcfa2/6988d6ed0a4a227df49cf2a5/blake-farenthold.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rep. 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