--- title: Congress Spent $115,000 in Taxpayer Money to Settle Sexual Harassment Claims description: At least three claims of sexual harassment and retaliation between 2008 and 2012 were settled for $115,000, according to data released Tuesday canonical: https://time.com/5071216/congress-sexual-harassment-settlements-2/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-19T17:02:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:42:54.223Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congress Spent $115,000 in Taxpayer Money to Settle Sexual Harassment Claims og:description: At least three claims of sexual harassment and retaliation between 2008 and 2012 were settled for $115,000, according to data released Tuesday og:url: https://time.com/5071216/congress-sexual-harassment-settlements-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9bc7a45b16dddf/6988f5ba656a3f215fbd2e8e/shutterstock_editorial_9292659a_huge.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3340 og:image:height: 1879 og:image:alt: Farenthold, Washington, USA - 13 Dec 2017 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congress Spent $115,000 in Taxpayer Money to Settle Sexual Harassment Claims twitter:description: At least three claims of sexual harassment and retaliation between 2008 and 2012 were settled for $115,000, according to data released Tuesday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9bc7a45b16dddf/6988f5ba656a3f215fbd2e8e/shutterstock_editorial_9292659a_huge.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congress Spent $115,000 in Taxpayer Money to Settle Sexual Harassment Claims > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=929e5ddb-38d8-421a-87b6-2029a131796b&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jbtW5SvJ.m3u8) (5:02)  _Published 2017-12-06. For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 19, 2017 5:02 PM UTC For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 19, 2017 5:02 PM UTC Member offices in the House of Representatives settled at least three claims of sexual harassment and retaliation between 2008 and 2012 for $115,000, according to data released Tuesday by the [Congressional Office of Compliance. ](http://time.com/5055450/susan-brooks-theodore-deutch-sexual-harassment-congress/)Another five cases of sex discrimination were settled during that same period. The largest sexual-harassment settlement cost taxpayers $85,000, while the other two cases of sexual harassment and retaliation were settled for $10,000 and $20,000\. The sex discrimination settlements ranged from $8,000 to $15,225\. In all, $342,225.85 worth of settlements were paid between 2008 and 2012\. The Office of Compliance revealed these details to the Committee on House Administration, which is conducting a review of the issue within Congress. That effort was sparked by both [reports of sexual harassment within member offices](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/30/house-committee-harassment-policy-244330) and complaints about the [arduous and secretive process victims](http://time.com/5023347/jackie-speier-barbara-comstock-sexual-harassment-congress/) have to go through when they come forward with workplace complaints on the Hill. The information released Tuesday follows an earlier [report that revealed an $84,000 settlement was paid in 2014](http://time.com/5045238/congress-sexual-harassment-settlements/) to settle a compliant against Rep. Blake Farenthold, a Texas Republican. While Farenthold denied wrongdoing, the Republican Congressman [announced last week](https://www.facebook.com/ElectBlakeF/videos/10155229018036818/) that he would not seek re-election. The data the Office of Compliance sent to the committee includes no names, and the office provided no information about the substance of the claims or complaints. [That’s largely by design. ](http://time.com/5055450/susan-brooks-theodore-deutch-sexual-harassment-congress/)Earlier in December, the Committee [held a hearing on possible reforms to the 1995 law](http://time.com/5055450/susan-brooks-theodore-deutch-sexual-harassment-congress/) that dictates how complaints are handled. That hearing showed just how difficult it is to glean specific information about sexual harassment. “The way the law is written, the strict confidentiality not only binds the parties, but it specifically binds our office from discussing those claims,” Susan Tsui Grundmann, the office’s executive director, testified. In a Dec. 15 letter to Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, Grundmann said that because there are no “charging documents” created during the mandatory counseling period that victims are required to undergo, there is no documentation on the specific complaints that employees raised during the follow-up mandatory mediation period. In addition, Grundmann said, because settlements are conducted under strict non-disclosure provisions the Office also does not know what led to the settlement or why the parties agreed to settle in the first place. The OOC has traditionally treated sexual harassment claims as a form of sex discrimination, Grundmann said, and has not necessarily separated claims of harassment from other forms of sex-based mistreatment like pregnancy discrimination. In some instances all forms of discrimination were labeled as “civil rights” cases. “Thus, we have claims classified in the category of ‘civil rights’ that may or may not contain an allegation of sex-based discrimination,” Grundmann writes. “And we have claims classified as sex discrimination that might—but do not necessarily—involve allegations of sexual harassment.” In a statement Tuesday, Harper said he would continue pressing the Office of Compliance for more information. “As I have stated from the beginning of this review, one case of sexual harassment is one case too many,” Harper said, in part. “We will continue to investigate the OOC’s record keeping practices as part of our extensive review.” ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] We can't all be ****. We can't all be asking [00:02] for it. I am here to give you permission to be angry. [00:05] This reality might not have to be our reality anymore. I [00:09] felt this crushing sense of powerlessness. This is the [00:12] time to take my power back. Here's my story. Uber [00:15] promises. Investigation into sexual harrassment. Fox [00:16] News cutting its ties with Bill O'Reilley. I felt it was my [00:19] duty for the women who are silent to be brave. It's [00:23] okay to stand up for yourself. Taylor Swift appearing in [00:26] court today. Harvey Weinstein, the New York- People [00:28] forget a lot that there's a human behind this. Someone [00:31] who was very hurt and wronged. [00:35] [ MUSIC ] [ CROSSTALK ] I [00:42] always thought maybe things could change for my [00:44] daughter. I never thought things could change for me. [00:46] [ MUSIC ] [00:50] Honestly, I was furious. I have had a man grope me in [00:54] front of multiple collegues and I was tired of wondering [00:57] if it was something I wore, I was tired of wondering if it [01:00] was a vibe I was giving off and when I talked to other [01:03] women they were furious too >> I felt that if I [01:07] can speak out, may be if I just stand up then someone [01:10] else would stand up with me >> There wasn't a place [01:14] For us to report these experiences. But I sure did talk [01:18] about it a lot over the years. The least I could do was [01:22] actually tell my own story and validate theirs for them [01:25] in a way, just as I was hoping someone much bigger [01:29] than me would help validate my story. And I knew [01:33] that other women Would continue to apple for jobs [01:36] there and that made me feel really uncomfortable. I [01:39] was afraid of the retaliation, I know the power [01:43] of patriarchy. I know what men can do when their [01:47] angry. They did everything that they could to prevent [01:51] me from raising my concerns further. They asked me if [01:54] there were other girls, maybe that he has done this too [01:56] and can I go get them. I had to show them that I wasn't [02:00] lying And it's like they took me for a joke. And if they [02:03] couldn't stop us from talking, well, they were gonna [02:06] stop everybody from listening to us. People digging [02:09] into my Instagram and pulling up sexy photos [02:14] as if they kind of discredited me. Well, I've seen you in [02:18] committee. You're really tough. Why didn't you just hit [02:20] him? Why did you let it go on for so long? I was a smart [02:23] young woman that had gone to college, that knew how [02:27] to fight, and I still was manipulated and conned. I felt [02:31] ashamed that I hadn't spoken out sooner, not having [02:35] the strength earlier on to make it stop. The feeling [02:40] of being humiliated as a woman And there's a point [02:43] you think is it my fault? For so long I [02:47] went around harboring this ridiculous belief that [02:50] because I was a non white woman in my 20s, it was [02:54] expected that I would have to be treated this way. We [02:57] don't have to just live like this. Few things could change [03:00] from my daughter I never thought things could change [03:03] from me. I'm here to give you permission to be angry, [03:06] people are afraid specially women where conditioned [03:10] since birth to be polite. To be nice, to [03:14] be kind, to be liked to not make waves. ****. [03:19] We can't all be crazy, we can't all be ****, we can't all [03:22] be asking for it. And I'm telling you that all the people [03:25] who stand up, all the people who speak out you are [03:29] teaching people how to treat and you should not be [03:32] shamed for that. The shame is not ours to hold, the [03:34] shame is on perpetrator. Me Too can be a [03:37] conversation starter or it can be the whole [03:38] conversation. It took away the power [03:43] from the predator. And placed the power on the [03:46] victim. And maybe, just maybe we would be able to [03:50] get a glimpse at the magnitude of this problem. The [03:54] amount of people sharing the stories with me is so [03:56] intense. People that were complete strangers reached [04:00] out to tell very personal stories. It's What they did with [04:05] this and they did a lot and not only in France in Hong [04:10] kong japanese. The most months >> I feel like the [04:13] day that I spoke up and I said you are a sexual [04:17] harasser I changed >> some [04:25] of the. Things in the night. [ FOREIGN ]. It's an honor [04:29] to be the person that hey I spoke up about this. I took [04:32] on the risk. And I was very humbled and I was very [04:35] proud. I'm very glad now that the story has been [04:39] heard. It's a direct response to that arrogance and that [04:42] show of power and [ UNKNOWN ]. A sense, we won't [04:46] be silenced. 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