Almost a decade after a workplace harassment overhaul on Capitol Hill, staffers aren’t fully comfortable reporting misconduct — that is, if they even know where to turn, a range of lawmakers and aides told Roll Call.
Congress should finish the job it started during the #MeToo era, several said, especially after the recent resignations of two lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct. But they added a caveat: Any rule change is only as good as the culture surrounding it.
“The problem is that people don’t come to us,” said Rep. Deborah K. Ross, D-N.C., a member of the House Ethics Committee and former congressional aide. “We need to have a culture where people who have been harassed feel like there’s a safe place, and that needs to be in the zeitgeist.”
