The House adopted a resolution Tuesday requiring the House Ethics Committee to release information on taxpayer-funded sexual misconduct settlements with lawmakers, but the committee said Thursday it has no information to share.
In a statement Thursday, the committee reiterated it does not manage sexual harassment lawsuits or their settlements and said taxpayers have not footed the bill for those payments since 2018.
Since that time, the committee said, "the Committee has not been notified of any awards or settlements relating to allegations of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or other sexual misconduct by a Member."
The bipartisan Ethics Committee said the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights is responsible for publicly releasing a list of each member who has received settlements for sexual misconduct allegations, as mandated by the resolution championed by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
The committee said it "fully supports the release of information about sexual misconduct settlements and calls on OCWR to abide by [the resolution] and make publicly available information about Member sexual misconduct matters resulting in payment of taxpayer funds."
Massie, in a text message Thursday, said "OCWR can release it."
The OCWR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bipartisan Ethics Committee has been under pressure in recent months to show it takes allegations of sexual misconduct against colleagues seriously; two former House members — Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) — were forced to resign earlier this year amid serious accusations against them.
The resolution earlier this week was adopted nearly unanimously, with just one member, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), voting "present." House Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said in an interview earlier this week that while he would support Massie's resolution, the relevant "information was already out in the public domain."