House to vote on anti-harassment training resolution next week

The House is set to vote next week on a resolution that would require all members and their staffers to undergo anti-harassment training. 

“Since becoming Chairman in January, I have made it a priority to improve the overall professionalism of the House of Representatives,” Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), the chairman of the House Administration Committee, said Friday.

“Instituting mandatory training is a first step in ensuring we are creating a safe and productive environment for everyone in the House.”

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House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said last week that all members and their staffs would be required to complete anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training. That training was previously optional.

The Senate voted earlier this month on a similar resolution requiring senators, staffers and interns to complete mandatory training. 

The House vote comes as a growing number of powerful men in politics, business, media and entertainment face allegations of sexual impropriety.

In the House, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) has faced multiple allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior toward female former staffers. And in the Senate, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has been accused of forcibly kissing and groping a woman in 2006, as well as inappropriately touching another woman in 2010.