Colorado Republican unveils bill banning relationships between members and staff without Ethics disclosure

Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.) on Wednesday introduced a resolution requiring House lawmakers to disclose relationships with staffers of other offices or committees to the lower chamber’s Committee on Ethics.

Crank’s resolution proposes upholding the existing ban on lawmakers from dating their staffers or staffers of a committee they serve on. It also proposes mandating lawmakers confidentially disclose relationships with staffers in other offices or committees to the Ethics panel.

If the circumstances of the relationship changes, members must then give “prompt notification” to the committee. 

Under the House Code of Official Conduct, members cannot engage in a “sexual relationship” with their staffers or staffers of committees they work on, with an exception for marriage. 

While lawmakers cannot engage in “unwelcome sexual advances or conduct” to House employees, the code of conduct does not explicitly bar relationships between members and staffers of other offices and committees.

In a release, Crank said members of Congress “should be held to the highest........

© The Hill