secrets of the hill

Hill Staffers Live in State of Imminent Peril, Sexual Harassment

The wrinkly old men that we elect to Congress are so horny and gross that the American taxpayer shells out on average $1 million a year in settlements to sexually harassed Hill staffers, according to the Office of Compliance. The level of perviness fluctuates from year to year — in 2007, 25 staffers were paid a total of $4 million. And if being playfully tickled by your boss wasn’t bad enough, there’s a good chance that at some point the halls of Congress will become a blazing inferno of death. According to the same Office of Compliance, which is on a roll today, “the Capitol and other congressional buildings are rife with fire traps and other pervasive problems of age and dangerous design, with an estimated 6,300 safety hazards lurking on Capitol Hill this Congress.” Congress has exempted itself from federal workplace safety regulations, so it isn’t legally obligated to repair any of these hazards, many of which will be expensive. It’s the kind of short-sightedness we’ve all come to expect from our lawmakers.

Danger on the Hill [Politico]
Abused staffers net nearly $1M a year [Politico]

Hill Staffers Live in State of Imminent Peril, Sexual Harassment