Susan W Brooks

Any House members who secretly moonlight as Bitcoin miners received bad news this week after the House Ethics Committee decided cryptocurrencies are subject to financial disclosure requirements for lawmakers and senior congressional staffers.

Cryptocurrencies, including the widely known variety called Bitcoin, are a form of online currency. Transactions made using cryptocurrencies are validated by a decentralized system of computers rather than a centralized bank.

Democrats and Republicans struck drastically different tones about their confidence in federal agencies’ efforts to secure voting systems and stamp out foreign state-sponsored influence campaigns ahead of the 2018 midterms after a classified meeting on the subject for House members Tuesday.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, and FBI Director Christopher Wray were among the officials who briefed lawmakers and answered their questions about what their agencies are doing to combat potential Russian, Iranian, Chinese, and other nations’ attempts to undermine the midterms.

Winning for Women Inc., a new group formed to boost Republican female candidates, is making its first independent expenditure of the 2018 cycle for a West Virginia woman facing a competitive congressional primary next week.

Winning for Women is spending five figures on a digital spot supporting state Del. Carol Miller, who is running for the GOP nomination in West Virginia’s 3rd District. Current GOP Rep. Evan Jenkins is running for Senate.

Congress wants to take a harder look at victims of sexual harassment who don’t have much clout.

The bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues is hosting a hearing, “Beyond the Headlines: Combating Service Sector Sexual Harassment in the Age of #MeToo” on Monday.

The chief of staff for Florida Rep. Neal Dunn has resigned amid being cited in a House Ethics Committee probe of his former boss Pennsylvania Rep. Pat Meehan.

The House Ethics Committee announced the creation of a subcommittee to investigate Brian Schubert and Meehan, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Schubert previously worked for Meehan.

Shortly after Marion Brown’s account of sexual harassment toppled a powerful congressman last fall, she returned to Washington on a frigid afternoon to ask for support from the lawmakers who had lauded her as a hero.

Wearing a smartly tilted fur cap, she left her business cards with aides who, to her, looked two generations her junior. She hoped for a reference, a lead on a new job, a bit of advice. She left the Capitol feeling disappointed, although lawmakers told Roll Call they want to do all they can to help.

The Senate cleared by voice vote on Tuesday legislation that would impose new reporting requirements on a wide variety of amateur sports, including gymnastics.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined former Olympic gymnasts and a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers at an event earlier in the day to celebrate the anticipated Senate action.

Congress is close to finalizing legislation that imposes new requirements on amateur and Olympic sports organizations to report suspected sexual abuse, something that would coincide with increased public pressure to address scandal within the Olympic community.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement that the chamber planned to take up a final bill Monday.

A bipartisan measure meant to increase protections for congressional employees who complain of sexual harassment and other workplace discrimination could make the process more cumbersome and less transparent, experts on employment law and advocates for victims and government transparency said this week.

Critics agree that the 23-year-old Congressional Accountability Act is long overdue for reform. But they said this one — expected to get broad support when it comes before the House as early as next week — could introduce more problems than it solves, possibly because it was compiled in a rush to respond to the #MeToo movement and the resulting wave of sexual harassment allegations in American institutions.

When people talk about women running for office, we hear a lot about numbers. X-number of women are running. Women make up y-percent of Congress or elected officials. When x and y are equal, then we’ll finally see a difference in our government.

But beyond the numbers, if you really want to see the difference it makes to have women from both parties at the table when legislation is drafted, look no further than the bill introduced last week to finally begin to change the way sexual harassment has been dealt with in Capitol Hill offices since the Congressional Accountability Act passed in 1995.