Progressive staff group urges sexual misconduct overhaul
Source: Roll Call
Posted July 7, 2026 at 5:00am
Sweeping moves to address sexual misconduct at the Capitol may not be coming anytime soon, given the slow pace of change in Congress. But even “low-hanging fruit” could make a difference, some staffers say. The Congressional Progressive Staff Association laid out some ideas in a letter sent to lawmakers on Tuesday.
“Staff safety is crucial,” reads the letter, which includes recommendations that range from creating a Senate version of the Office of Employee Advocacy to something even simpler — building “awareness of existing resources.” “Almost every staffer we heard from was not aware of most of these resources” to report bad actors and hold them accountable, said CPSA spokesperson Michael Suchecki. His group surveyed its members in the months after two lawmakers, Reps. Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell, resigned from Congress amid misconduct allegations, sparking calls for a broader reckoning around culture on the Hill.
“We didn’t want to put forward a naive, progressive wish list of how we would build this process from zero. We wanted to put together an actionable list sourced from the inside,” Suchecki said. The CPSA was founded in 2021 and has championed workplace overhauls that Congress has been slow to adopt over the years, like parental leave and overtime for House staffers. But the group’s ideas haven’t always sat well with the rest of the congressional community.
A proposal from the group last January asking lawmakers to consider a 32-hour work week in their offices saw significant blowback, for example. This time, the group hopes its in-the-weeds recommendations make for easier consensus. The independent, nonpartisan Office of Congressional Conduct should get a boost, according to one of the recommendations, which urges lawmakers to codify the office and give it limited subpoena powers.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2026/07/07/progressive-staff-group-urges-sexual-misconduct-overhaul/
Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000019f-3a4f-de44-a79f-7bff8d2a0000