https://govtrackinsider.com/should-taxpayer-funds-be-used-for-congressional-slush-funds-to-pay-off-sexual-harassment-accusers-d2f3bce05083 "A 1995 law called the Congressional Accountability Act allows taxpayer funds to be used for paying settlements when members of Congress were accused of sexual harassment. Since then, $17 million of taxpayer money has been paid out in 264 individual cases. At the time, the law was actually considered a step forward, because it ended what had been a longtime congressional exemption from discrimination and workplace lawsuits by employees. It faced virtually no opposition at the time, with a unanimous 390–0 House vote and a nearly unanimous 98–1 Senate vote. (Only the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) opposed.) But in recent months, with a torrent of powerful men in politics and other professions felled by accusations of sexual harassment or sexual assault, a renewed focus has been placed on the 1995 law, with many calling for it to be updated for a different era."