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Part of Utah Rep. Mia Love’s plan is in a House bill to stop use of taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment claims against lawmakers

(Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo) Utah 4th District Congresswoman Mia Love meets with Salt Lake Tribune's editorial board Tuesday August 30.

The House passed a package of new sexual harassment guidelines Tuesday that would require members of Congress accused of misconduct or discrimination to pay award settlements out of their own pockets.

It was based, in part, on legislation proposed last year by Republican Rep. Mia Love.

“This bill is long overdue, and I’m glad Congress is finally pushing it forward,” the Utah congresswoman said in a written response. “Taxpayers should not be paying to bail out those who have behaved badly just because that person is a member of Congress.”

Love’s proposal, called the Stop Taxpayer Obligations to Perpetrators of Sexual Harassment Act, came in early December as prominent men in Washington, Hollywood, statehouses, newsrooms and beyond have been accused of everything from sending lewd texts to rape. Several lawmakers resigned following the flurry of allegations, including Sen. Al Franken and Reps. John Conyers, Tim Murphy and Trent Franks.

None of this behavior coming to light now is new, Love told The Salt Lake Tribune last year, especially not in Congress. The unwanted advances and the off-color comments, the touching and the leering have been going on for years and have been concealed by a culture of secrecy.

“I think that too many people have gotten really comfortable doing inappropriate things,” she said, noting that she’s been in situations on Capitol Hill where men have come “close to crossing the line.”

The omnibus that incorporates Love’s bill — the biggest federal legislative response to the #MeToo movement — would require lawmakers to repay taxpayers when they settle a claim. In the past, those settlements have sometimes been covered by funds from the U.S. Treasury or office budgets. It also grants protections to unpaid staffers, including interns, and sends cases to the House Ethics Committee.

“Victims will be compensated but taxpayers won’t be footing the bill,” Love said from the House floor. The legislation moves next to the Senate for consideration.

The House also passed a separate measure to ban lawmakers from having sexual relationships with their staffers and help victims navigate filing a complaint.

Both bills passed by voice vote and update congressional rules first created in 1995.