WASHINGTON — As revelations of sexual misconduct continue to ripple through Congress, calls for change are dominating the halls — so much so that Speaker Mike Johnson said he’d lead the cause himself.

“We are looking at every potential avenue to tighten up the rules and make sure that women have an avenue to report,” Johnson, R-La., said at a press conference Tuesday. “So if there are ways to tighten the rules, or suggestions, we’re seeking that from all members, we’re open to that ... And I will lead that myself.”

A report released Tuesday from the National Women’s Defense League, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing sexual harassment, found that 30 members of Congress since 2006 specifically have been publicly accused of sexual harassment in the workplace, with at least 53 accusations.

That number jumps when you include accusations outside of the workplace and instances that took place prior to serving in Congress — at least 137 accusations against 49 members of Congress, the report found.

Roughly 97% of the members with accusations against them are men, and most target women. Staffers are also the most frequent targets, making up 77% of the public allegations collected by NWDL.

“Governments lack transparent tracking and reporting mechanisms, and actual instances are likely three times higher than what appears in the public record,” said Emma Davidson Tribbs, founding director of NWDL. “While we saw a reporting surge during Me Too, the number of reports had begun to decrease.”

The report comes on the heels of a release by the Ethics Committee on Monday saying the panel has, since 2017, initiated 20 investigations into matters involving allegations of sexual misconduct by a member. The committee only named 15 of those members in an attached list.

It’s not clear how and when the committee decides to make such probes public. According to the Ethics Committee’s statement, the panel has “consistently publicly announced its investigations into publicly reported allegations of sexual misconduct and has announced any findings in those matters.”

The committee typically follows a slow-moving process and loses jurisdiction over members once they leave Congress.

“The greatest hurdle the Committee faces in evaluating allegations of sexual misconduct is in convincing the most vulnerable witnesses to share their stories,” the panel said in its statement. “The Committee has always made public its findings whenever allegations of sexual misconduct were substantiated.”

‘Hit people in their pocketbooks’

Johnson offered few details Tuesday on the path forward or ways to “tighten the rules.” But efforts to change how sexual misconduct is addressed on the Hill need to begin at the institutional level, some members say.

One idea being floated is to bar members from receiving pensions if they are expelled or resign as a result of bad behavior. Lawmakers are eligible for pensions if they have completed at least five years of service.

Virginia Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam and Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Tuesday announced they were drafting such a pensions-blocking bill.

“One of the privileges of serving in Congress is that if you serve long enough, you get a pension. The taxpayers should not be paying pensions if you commit a heinous crime while in Congress,” Subramanyam said at a news conference. “We’ve had too many members committing crimes for having inappropriate sexual relationships with their staff. And whether it’s rape, sexual assault, fraud, bribery, violent felonies, you should not be getting a congressional pension if you commit these crimes right now.”

If ultimately signed into law, the bill would not take effect until the start of the next Congress.

“Something needs to change, and we need to hit people in their pocketbooks, because that’s the only way they’ll learn, that’s the only way they will change. This problem is bipartisan. It’s happened on both sides of the aisle, so the solution needs to be bipartisan,” Subramanyam said.

The Ethics Committee has faced growing scrutiny since the now-former Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who were both accused by staffers of sexual misconduct, resigned last week. Many are calling to change or expedite the panel’s processes to better address wrongdoing by members.

Johnson, for his part, said he still has faith in the Ethics Committee reporting process. “I mean, the last two Congresses have been very busy for the Ethics Committee,” he said.

And it’s personal to him — Johnson said two of his daughters work on committee staff on Capitol Hill. “(It’s) very serious to me. I’m a father.”

“There’s always been untoward activity among political figures. … There’s always been marital infidelity, there’s always been despicable behavior,” Johnson said. “What that means is the House Ethics Committee is an essential component of this institution. … There’s lots of safeguards in there for the due process. Sometimes it takes a long time.”

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., added that past reforms to the process have encouraged more victims to speak up.

“We’ve made it clear to anybody who comes forward that, you know, we have whistleblower protection laws,” he said. “The Ethics Committee is going to pursue all the facts, and then they’re going to make strong recommendations.”

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