Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Me Too Congressional Ethics Act”.
Me Too Congressional Ethics Act
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to require the automatic referral to the congressional ethics committees of the disposition of any allegation that an employing office of the House of Representatives or Senate violated part A of title II of such Act.
Sec. 2 Automatic referral to congressional ethics committees of disposition of allegations of violations of Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 involving congressional offices
Automatic referral— Section 416(e) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1416(d)) is amended to read as follows:
“(e) Automatic referrals to Congressional Ethics Committees of dispositions of allegations involving employing offices of House or Senate
“(1) Referral—Upon the final disposition under this title of an allegation that an employing office of the House of Representatives or an employing office of the Senate has committed a violation of part A of title II, the Executive Director shall refer the allegation to—
“(A) the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, in the case of an employing office of the House; or
“(B) the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate, in the case of an employing office of the Senate.
“(2) Access to records and information—If the Executive Director refers an allegation to a Committee under paragraph (1), the Executive Director shall provide the Committee with access to the records of any hearings or decisions of the hearing officers and the Board under this title, and any information relating to an award or settlement paid, in response to such allegation.
“(3) Permitting covered employee to waive referral—At the request of the covered employee filing an allegation described in paragraph (1), the Executive Director shall waive paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) with respect to the allegation or the records and information in response to the allegation.
“(4) Final disposition described—In this subsection, the “final disposition” of an allegation means any of the following:
“(A) The payment of an award or settlement.
“(B) A final decision of a hearing officer under section 405(g).
“(C) A final decision of the Board under section 406(e).
“(D) A final decision in a civil action under section 408.”
Actions by congressional ethics committees—
Mandatory initiation of investigation— If the Executive Director of the Board of Compliance refers an allegation to the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate under section 415(d) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (as amended by subsection (a)), such Committee shall promptly initiate an investigation into the allegation and take such actions in response to the investigation as may be appropriate.
Protection of identity of individuals making allegations— If a Committee to which an allegation is referred under paragraph (1) issues a report with respect to the allegation, the Committee shall ensure that the report does not disclose the identity of the individual who made the allegation.
Effective date— This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.