Facing pressure, House OKs anti-harassment training
WASHINGTON — Pressured to respond to burgeoning sexual misconduct allegations, the House easily approved a bipartisan measure Wednesday requiring annual anti-harassment training for lawmakers and aides after a debate that rang with lawmakers’ own accounts of such episodes.
Voice vote passage came as Congress waged year-end battles over Republican tax cuts and a potential government shutdown but has been diverted to also address allegations against some of its own. The accused include liberal heroes Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Al Franken and far-right GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama.
With Conyers being pressed to resign from Congress by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and others, Pelosi seemed to suggest it was time for the long-serving liberal and civil rights hero to step down.
“No matter how great the legacy, it is not a license to harass and abuse,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said without mentioning the 88-year-old Michigan Democrat’s name. She said Congress must tolerate no abuse, “no matter your contribution to our country.”