Johnson's early recess threatens sexual misconduct reform
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House Speaker Mike Johnson talks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to cancel two weeks of September workdays is threatening to delay a bipartisan push to crack down on sexual misconduct in Congress, the lead Democrat on the bipartisan task force told Axios.
Why it matters: The House task force created to address sexual misconduct had hoped to unveil legislation this month after having already pushed back its initial goal of releasing a bill before the August recess.
- But Johnson's new schedule means the House will be in session for just one more week before lawmakers leave Washington to campaign ahead of the November midterms.
- The shortened calendar gives members eager to hit the campaign trail more time in their districts but leaves lawmakers with little time to finish remaining legislative business.
The reforms are "something that everybody wants," Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), the lead Democrat on the task force, told Axios.
- "We have bipartisan support for it. But when you cancel legislative days, it shrinks our ability to get that work done," she added.
- The week of Sept. 14 is now scheduled to be the only one in session until after the midterms.
Catch up quick: The bipartisan task force, created this year amid a string of allegations involving members of Congress, is examining potential changes to the chamber's rules surrounding sexual misconduct.
- Leger Fernández said the task force heard from dozens of male and female congressional staffers this week in what she described as the final round of feedback needed before moving to legislative text.
- Kammack told Axios on Tuesday — before Johnson canceled session time — that the group was still on track to release legislative text this month.
- "When we take away two weeks of the September legislative calendar, that puts a little strain on it," Leger Fernández said.
Zoom in: The task force members are now moving to draft legislative text and will discuss the compressed timeline with Johnson and the Office of Legislative Counsel, Leger Fernández said.
- Potential reforms under discussion include changes to reporting systems, retaliation protections, increases in education and training resources, and a ban on lawmaker-staff relations.
- "There's still strong commitment to get it done," she said. "We'll keep pushing to see how we get it done."
