Just when you thought there might be some justice in terms of genuine sexual harassment, rape and assault incidents in DC — well, have I got a story for you.
Your American Taxpayer dollars are hard at work.
Against you, not for you.
From TheHill.com:
Congress owes taxpayers answers about its harassment ‘shush’ fund
by Jenny Beth Martin
Since when are members of Congress and their staffs accused of sexual harassment allowed to hush up and pay off their accusers from a secret “shush” fund full of taxpayer dollars? Since 1995, it turns out.
Congress, we all know, chooses to exempt itself from many of the same laws it foists on the rest of us. It’s a grievance I hear regularly during my travels around the country, as grassroots activists complain about this law or that regulation. “If only Congress had to live under the same laws we do, they’d get it, and they’d change it” is a common refrain.
For years, for instance, I’ve been speaking out about the illegal special exemption of Congress from ObamaCare, which allows members and staff to avoid the financial burdens they imposed on us when they passed that terrible law. If only they had to live under the law the same way the rest of us do, without benefit of taxpayer dollars to subsidize their premiums purchased fraudulently on the D.C. small business exchange, they might be more incentivized to repeal that law.
But until recently, I did not know about the “shush fund” of Congress, a fund managed by the “Office of Compliance,” which itself was created following the 1995 enactment of the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA), the first law enacted by the first Republican House in four decades.
Haven’t you ever asked yourself: just why do people spend thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars for a House or Senate seat?
Are they so devoted that they would place themselves into what normally would be considered as absolutely inextricable debt potentially in perpetuity?
The lowliest of Congressmen make $174,000 per year. Leaders make $200,000 per year or more, due to figures not up to date.
Did you ever think quid pro quo? Or ROI? You should have.
“It’s not the money, it’s the power.”
— Frank Underwood
What happened to transparency?
We, the taxpayers who have been paying for more than two decades to quietly settle literally hundreds of sexual harassment claims against members of Congress and their staffs, have a right to know which members and staffers have made use of the hush money over the years. Going forward, taxpayers should have knowledge about how that fund is used.
If Congress wants to get serious about its apparent culture of abuse, it will need to address its cover-up culture. Shush funds may serve the immediate purpose of getting alleged victims to go away, but they do little to stem the tide of sexual harassment. What Congress needs — and American taxpayers deserve — is more transparency.
And also at GatewayPundit.com:
SHOCK: $15 Million in TAXPAYER MONEY Has Been Paid Out to Settle Congressional Sexual Harassment Lawsuits
by Cristina Laila
As previously reported, Congress has a rampant sexual harassment problem. In fact the problem is so bad that female lawmakers and aides keep a ‘creep list’ of men who are notorious for lewd behavior.
As if this couldn’t get any worse, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd Tuesday that taxpayers have paid over $15 million to settle sexual harassment lawsuits against members of Congress!
Further, from ConservativeReview.com:
Levin: GOP leaders must resign over sexual harassment in Congress
by Chris Pandolfo
Tuesday on the radio, LevinTV host Mark Levin discussed the day’s reports and testimonies concerning the subject of sexual harassment in Congress.
He played a clip of Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who testified there are at least two sitting members of Congress — one Republican, one Democrat —who have engaged in sexual harassment of their own staff members.
Levin wants these sitting Congress members to be identified. He wants names named.
He also wants Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to resign for their failure in leadership — keeping silent on known creeps and a known widespread problem in the institutions they lead.
Can you imagine, folks, a job where you are treated like a king or a queen, provided with armed protection, chauffeured in cars and SUVs, provided an expense account, shown deference wherever you go and can decide which laws to obey or not because, after all, you make the law? Wouldn’t you like a job like that? One where internal review and investigations into your conduct are mostly toothless?
Wouldn’t you enjoy a job like that?
And finally: just how long must we slit our own wrists for the power mongers in DC before we rise up in righteous umbrage?
BZ
The fix is in.