--- title: Senate Women Call for Vote on Sexual Harassment Bill description: It’s time to rewrite the Congressional Accountability Act and update the process through which survivors seek justice." canonical: https://time.com/5218765/congress-sexual-harassment-legislation/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-28T15:27:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:31.378Z article:section: Politics og:title: Every Woman in the Senate Is Demanding a Vote on a Sexual Harassment Bill og:description: "No longer can we allow the perpetrators of these crimes to hide behind a 23-year-old law." og:url: https://time.com/5218765/congress-sexual-harassment-legislation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6432f81d8a331c9/69892ba4bc6cfc553d3e56d8/gettyimages-908848584.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-SHUTDOWN-CAPITOL og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Every Woman in the Senate Is Demanding a Vote on a Sexual Harassment Bill twitter:description: "No longer can we allow the perpetrators of these crimes to hide behind a 23-year-old law." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6432f81d8a331c9/69892ba4bc6cfc553d3e56d8/gettyimages-908848584.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Every Woman in the Senate Is Demanding a Vote on a Sexual Harassment Bill > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. 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: 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 Mar 28, 2018 3:27 PM UTC  The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, DC on January 22, 2018 after the US Senate reached a deal to reopen the federal government, with Democrats accepting a compromise spending bill. The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, DC on January 22, 2018 after the US Senate reached a deal to reopen the federal government, with Democrats accepting a compromise spending bill. MANDEL NGAN—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 28, 2018 3:27 PM UTC Every woman Senator is urging Senate leadership to bring up legislation that would [address sexual harassment and discrimination](http://time.com/5055359/the-choice-2017/) on Capitol Hill. In a letter signed by all 22 women Senators—Republicans and Democrats—the Senators say they are disappointed that the upper chamber has not acted to enact reforms to the [20-year old law that forces survivors of harassment to undergo an arduous process](http://time.com/5055450/susan-brooks-theodore-deutch-sexual-harassment-congress/) when bringing their claims forward. In February, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would reform the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, but the Senate has not considered legislation to address the old law. “Survivors who have bravely come forward to share their stories have brought to light just how widespread harassment and discrimination continue to be throughout Capitol Hill,” the Senators write. “No longer can we allow the perpetrators of these crimes to hide behind a 23-year-old law. It’s time to rewrite the Congressional Accountability Act and update the process through which survivors seek justice.” According to the Associated Press, leadership has responded to the senators’ letter. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he supports having members be “personally, financially liable for sexual misconduct in which they have engaged.” But the leader did not say when legislation to address misconduct would be finished. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said “we strongly agree that the Senate should quickly take up legislation to combat sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.” As the Me Too movement took hold, members of Congress and staff began seeking to address the issue of harassment and discrimination on the Hill. In the time since, several members and staff have resigned, retired, or announced their departures after facing claims of sexual harassment. Both the House and Senate have passed resolutions that require all congressional workplaces to participate in anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training regularly. The House has also passed a resolution that provides staffers who have been harassed or discriminated against with access free legal representation. 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