Washington, DC November 21, 2017 – Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14) issued the following statement in response to reports that Congressman John Conyers (MI-13) settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who alleged she was fired because she would not submit to sexual advances, and several other former staff members who have alleged they also were sexually harassed.

“The allegations against Congressman Conyers are serious. The House Committee on Ethics should be called upon immediately to investigate,” Rep. Speier said. “Beyond the sexual harassment allegations are allegations that call into question the amount of money that is used to settle sexual harassment cases, and whether some Members are using their tax payer-funded office budgets to make settlements under the guise of severance payments. If this is true, the amount of tax payer money used to settle these cases is even higher than the number that’s been provided by the Office of Compliance.”