[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7542 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7542
To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to require
Members of Congress to reimburse the Treasury for amounts paid as
settlements and awards under such Act in all cases of employment
discrimination acts committed personally by Members, to permit
individuals who file claims under such Act to file an amended claim if
the preliminary review of the individual's claim by a hearing officer
includes the determination that the individual filing the claim is not
a covered employee under such Act or has not stated a claim for which
relief may be granted under title IV of such Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2022
Ms. Speier (for herself, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Porter, Mrs.
Bustos, Ms. Norton, Ms. Newman, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Adams, Ms. Jacobs of
California, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr.
Vargas, and Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to require
Members of Congress to reimburse the Treasury for amounts paid as
settlements and awards under such Act in all cases of employment
discrimination acts committed personally by Members, to permit
individuals who file claims under such Act to file an amended claim if
the preliminary review of the individual's claim by a hearing officer
includes the determination that the individual filing the claim is not
a covered employee under such Act or has not stated a claim for which
relief may be granted under title IV of such Act, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Accountability Act
Enhancement Act''.
SEC. 2. REVISION OF RULES REQUIRING REIMBURSEMENT FOR AMOUNTS PAID AS
SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS UNDER CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
ACT OF 1995 IN CASES OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION.
(a) Requiring Members of Congress To Reimburse Treasury for Amounts
Paid as Settlements and Awards in All Cases of Employment
Discrimination Acts by Members.--
(1) Requiring reimbursement.--Clause (i) of section
415(d)(1)(C) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1415(d)(1)(C)) is amended to read as follows:
``(i) a violation of section 201(a) or
section 206(a); or''.
(2) Conforming amendment relating to notification of
possibility of reimbursement.--Clause (i) of section
402(b)(2)(B) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1402(b)(2)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
``(i) a violation of section 201(a) or
section 206(a); or''.
(b) Requiring Other Employing Offices To Reimburse Treasury for
Amounts Paid in Claims Involving Retaliation for Filing Employment
Discrimination Claim.--Section 415(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1415(e)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``a violation of section
201(a) or 206(a)'' and inserting ``a violation described in
paragraph (4)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Violations described.--A violation described in this
paragraph is--
``(A) a violation of section 201(a) or 206(a); or
``(B) intimidation, reprisal, or discrimination
that is unlawful under section 207 and is taken against
a covered employee because of a claim alleging a
violation described in subparagraph (A).''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to claims under the Congressional Accountability Act
of 1995 which are made on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 3. PERMITTING INDIVIDUALS FILING CLAIMS UNDER CONGRESSIONAL
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995 TO FILE AMENDED CLAIMS IF
PRELIMINARY REVIEW INCLUDES DETERMINATION OF FAILURE TO
STATE CLAIM FOR WHICH RELIEF MAY BE GRANTED.
(a) Permitting Filing of Amended Claims.--Section 403(d) of the
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1402a(d)) is amended
to read as follows:
``(d) Effect of Determination of Failure To State Claim for Which
Relief May Be Granted.--
``(1) Permitting filing of amended version of claim.--If
the hearing officer's report on the preliminary review of a
claim under subsection (c) includes the determination that the
individual filing the claim is not a covered employee or has
not stated a claim for which relief may be granted under this
title--
``(A) the individual may file an amended version of
the claim under this section; and
``(B) the amended claim shall be subject to a
preliminary review under this section in the same
manner as the original version of the claim.
``(2) Effect of determination.--If the individual does not
file an amended claim under paragraph (1)(A) prior to the
expiration of the 10-day period which begins on the date the
hearing officer submits the report on the preliminary review of
the individual's original version of the claim under subsection
(c), or if the hearing officer's report on the amended version
of the claim includes the determination that the individual
filing the claim is not a covered employee or has not stated a
claim for which relief may be granted under this title--
``(A) the individual (including an individual who
is a Library claimant, as defined in section 401(d)(1))
may not obtain a formal hearing with respect to the
claim as provided under section 405; and
``(B) the hearing officer shall provide the
individual and the Executive Director with a written
notice that the individual may file a civil action with
respect to the claim in accordance with section 408.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to claims under the Congressional Accountability Act
of 1995 which are made on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 4. PERMITTING OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO
COVERED EMPLOYEES IN CONNECTION WITH CIVIL ACTIONS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 724(c) of House Resolution
724, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, if a covered employee of the House
of Representatives under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995
files a civil action with respect to an alleged violation of such Act,
as provided in section 408 of such Act, the Office of Employee Advocacy
may provide assistance to the employee with respect to investigations
or proceedings under such Act in connection with such alleged violation
at any time, including after the employee files such action.
(b) Exercise of Rulemaking Authority.--This section is enacted by
Congress--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of
Representatives, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules
of the House of Representatives, and it supersedes other rules
only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
the House of Representatives to change the rules (so far as
relating to the procedure of the House) at any time, in the
same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other
rule of the House.
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