Nobody knows who, nobody knows why, but $17 million of our money (taxpayers) has been paid out to federal lawmakers accused of sexual (as well as other types of discrimination) misdeeds from 1997 to 2017.
Personally, I think this is despicable. You and I have no choice in the matter. Our tax money is used to get these wayward lawmakers out of trouble, and we don’t even know who they are, unless they are turned over to the police.
According to CNN, 268 settlements have been paid out. That means 268 elected officials- the people we choose to represent us, have been paid our money to take care of their sexual misconduct.
CNN continues, “And the number of settlements reached may not be indicative of how widespread sexual harassment is, as many victims choose not to proceed with the Office of Compliance’s process for handling complaints.”
A spokesperson for the OCC said 80% of people who come to their office to file a sexual misconduct complaint in the last few weeks have chosen not to report the incident. Part of the problem, CNN says is the paperwork and reporting procedures are extreme and not the least bit easy.
Egads, so the 268 number could be much much higher and even we made it easy on victims the payout could be double or triple the $17 million. I wonder what kind of sexual deviants we are electing to office. But guess what, we will never know, because the payouts and involved parties are never revealed.
Obviously the temptations at the federal level are all over the place. Lobbyists will use any means to get a favorable vote, and staff members looking to work their way up the ladder, may tempt their boss. All this can easily go to one’s head. The power their position holds is substantial, and for some, too difficult to control.
And I suppose some of the accusations are frivolous in nature, but settled, to get the supposed victim some relief so they will go away. But again, because all supporting data is private, we don’t know.
However we don’t even know who is negotiating the settlements and if there is any punishment for the lawmaker who committed the faux pax. My inclination is, because we have never been told, that no lawmaker has been chastised by Congress. That’s a shame. I would expect them to be censured, if not booted from Congress.
Congress receives so many perks, average citizens cannot partake in. They have an officeholders allowance that is in the hundreds of thousands, they have free health care, and a staff to take care of every need and whim. We pay for it all, including this sexual harassment fund, in case our servant can’t stay out of trouble.
As with most items our government likes to keep secret, I demand that the details of the $17 million in payouts be made public. After all, it is our money making these payments. Shouldn’t we know to whom and where they are going?
It sounds to me like you are more incensed over the payout than the actual actions that caused them. But then that would mean that you felt there was nothing wrong with Trump’s multiple sexual harassment payouts since he paid for them himself.
I’m more concerned with the Ethics committees doing absolutely nothing regarding Congressional financial disclosures and literally hundreds of stock trades that are illegal for those in Congress. Lining their pockets while taking a salary from us.