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Taxpayer Funded Slush Fund: Documents Reveal Six Former House Members Linked to Sexual Harassment Settlements
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. taxpayers unknowingly paid more than 300,000 dollars to settle sexual harassment claims linked to six former members of the House of Representatives or their personal offices. The details were revealed on Tuesday by Republican Representative Nancy Mace, who successfully subpoenaed the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) for the confidential records.
The newly released documents provide a window into a decades-long practice of using public funds to resolve workplace misconduct complaints behind closed doors. Between 1996 and 2018, the OCWR approved 349 awards and settlements to resolve complaints against legislative branch offices. While the majority of these involved various labor disputes, a specific subset utilized a Treasury account known as the Section 415 fund to cover sexual harassment claims.
The Lawmakers and Payouts Identified
Representative Mace identified six former lawmakers whose offices or actions were linked to these taxpayer-funded payouts. Most of the members named in the records had previously stepped down from Congress after facing public allegations of misconduct. The list includes:
Rodney Alexander (R-LA): A 15,000 dollar settlement in 2007.
Office of Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY): An 8,000 dollar settlement involving two cases in 2009.
Eric Massa (D-NY): Three separate cases totaling 115,000 dollars in 2010.
John Conyers (D-MI): A combination of a settlement and severance pay totaling over 77,000 dollars between 2010 and 2014.
Blake Farenthold (R-TX): An 84,000 dollar settlement in 2014.
Patrick Meehan (R-PA): A 39,250 dollar settlement and severance payment in 2017.
According to Representative Mace, the files prove that Congress spent decades hiding these records from the American people. In her statement, she emphasized that taxpayers did not sign up to provide a cover-up for elected officials who abused their positions of power.
A History of Confidentiality
The OCWR letter sent to the House Oversight Committee clarified that while hundreds of settlements were reached for various workplace complaints, only a subset were directly related to sexual harassment. However, the lack of transparency surrounding these payments has been a point of contention for years.
In 2018, following the MeToo movement, Congress passed a law that now prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars for settlements related to sexual harassment by members. The newly released files also revealed that some older records, specifically those from before 2004, were destroyed under a record retention policy established in 2013.
The release of these names follows recent high-profile resignations in the House, including Representatives Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales, who both stepped down in April 2026 following separate misconduct allegations. Mace has vowed to continue the investigation into past and present abuses of office, stating that those who abused their position of power will have nowhere left to hide.
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By: NBC Palm Springs
May 6, 2026
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