Female members of the U.S. Senate said that Senate rules for prevention of sexual harassment must be changed because they were designed to protect men, according to The Hill.
The female senators — 21 out of the 100 Senate members — have had informal talks on how to move the discussion forward, The Hill reported.
"We’ve heard about the procedure that’s in place right now, which is ridiculous," said Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. "It needs to be changed and there are a number of us who are visiting about it and getting it done," Fischer added, according to The Hill.
"The rules were written years ago to protect powerful men," said a senator who requested anonymity so as not to offend male colleagues, The Hill reported.
The current rules have a 180-day limit on bringing a claim, after which victims must submit to 30 days of mandatory counseling before opting for mediation. If mediation fails, then a person must wait 30 days before filing a lawsuit or calling for a hearing, The Hill reported.
"The process that’s in place now, and I’m learning more about it, is adverse to someone coming forward. It’s antiquated, it’s not transparent. I think we all recognize it’s a bad system," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., in The Hill’s report.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is leading a working group of members from the Senate Rules Committee, where she is the ranking Democrat, and she is reaching out to other female senators, The Hill reported.
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution that requires sexual harassment training, but they say more work is required. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced a bill to revamp the Senate’s process of handling complaints, The Hill reported.
"Our goal is to get bipartisan support in the next two weeks and to hopefully get a vote on it by the end of the year," Gillibrand said, according to The Hill.
"The rules clearly need to be changed here," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., according to The Hill.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bipartisan measure requiring anti-harassment training for lawmakers and aides, according to ABC News.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.