'Please Pray For Us': Congress Takes Step Towards Addressing Harassment Claims

WASHINGTON - Congress took a step towards addressing the growing number of sexual harassment claims on the Hill Wednesday by unanimously adopting a resolution that requires mandatory anti-harassment training for all members and their staff for each session of Congress.
 
Many Congressional offices on Capitol Hill already require their staff to complete this training, like Rep. Robert Pittenger, R – NC, who strongly supports the resolution.
 
"Sexual harassment is wrong, and reports of this behavior on Capitol Hill deeply trouble me," Pittenger said in a statement. "My office has always had a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment, and I am thankful the full House joined together today to require this training for all Members, officers, and employees."
 
Pittenger also asked for prayer for lawmakers and saying they must live to a higher standard.
 
"Please pray for us. Pray for those who are your leaders. They are people with clay feet," he continued. "We must live at a higher standard, and people should expect that from us.  We all need to be upheld."
 
The Senate already passed the same resolution November 9.  Sen. Chuck Grassley, R- Iowa, who introduced the bill with Sen.  Amy Klobuchar, D- Minn., says this is just a first step in addressing the issue, and they need to go further.
 
"We've got to go further than what I got passed two weeks ago," Grassley told CBN News. "The whole process of getting justice under sexual harassment very much works against the victim, and very much to the benefit of the perpetrator." 
 
"We've got to revise that process, so it's fair both to the victim as well as the perpetrator," he said.