WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Congressional Progressive Staff Association (CPSA) sent a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday with recommendations to address sexual misconduct within Congress. The letter proposes codifying the Office of Congressional Conduct, creating a Senate version of the Office of Employee Advocacy, and improving awareness of existing resources for reporting misconduct.

The CPSA surveyed its members in the months after Reps. Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress amid misconduct allegations. "Almost every staffer we heard from was not aware of most of these resources to report bad actors and hold them accountable," said Michael Suchecki, a CPSA spokesperson. The letter states, "Staff safety is crucial."

One primary recommendation in the letter urges lawmakers to grant the Office of Congressional Conduct limited subpoena powers. The letter notes, "Currently, the continued existence of this office is subject to biennial House rules packages, and congressional leaders have previously attempted to restrict its independence." Suchecki said the group focused on actionable changes. "We didn't want to put forward a naive, progressive wish list of how we would build this process from zero," Suchecki said. "We wanted to put together an actionable list sourced from the inside."

During its research, the CPSA contacted the Office of Employee Advocacy, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, the Office of House Employment Counsel, the Office of Employee Assistance, and ethics panels. "We thought there were three or four different offices or bodies that we needed to talk to to get a sense of how reporting, seeking accountability works on the Hill," Suchecki said. He added, "I called all of them, and basically they all said it's someone else's job, and I'm like, OK, this is a good start."

The letter is addressed to the chairs and ranking members of the House Administration Committee and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. Suchecki expressed concern regarding the potential outcome of the efforts. "We'll be deeply concerned and disappointed if the bipartisan partnership cannot at least deliver on that," he said. He also noted, "I have faith that they are having the right conversations and engaging with the right people on this to try to make change, but it still needs to be something that the institution buys into — and if the bipartisan partnership puts forward a proposal, and the speaker shoots it down, or if his office shoots it down, and he won't bring it to the floor, that's not worth anything."