Ethics Investigation Must Answer: What Did Democratic Leaders Know? When Did They Know? What Did They Do to Protect Staff and Interns?

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement on the House Ethics Committee’s decision to start a formal investigation regarding how allegations against former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) were handled by Members of Congress and staff outside his office, including top House Democratic Leaders:

“The American people have the right to expect their elected leaders to adhere to the highest possible standards of ethical conduct. Members of Congress, especially Leaders, have clear responsibilities when it comes to protecting Congressional employees and interns from harassment and abuse. I hope this investigation will establish, in a timely fashion, whether the Democratic leadership lived up to those standards in the case involving Congressman Massa and his employees.

“News reports indicate that Congressman Massa’s pattern of troubling behavior continued long after Democratic Leaders first became aware of his conduct. Speaker Pelosi’s staff has acknowledged they knew about problems in Mr. Massa’s office back in the fall of 2009, and House Majority Leader Hoyer’s office was contacted at least several days before the allegations were publicly known.

“We need answers to serious questions: what did Democratic Leaders know about former Rep. Massa’s conduct? When did they know? What did they do to protect the staff and interns who were being subjected to harassment by their boss?”

Washington, Apr 21 - Office of the House Republican Leader H-204 The Capitol || Washington, DC 20515 || p. (202) 225-4000 || f. (202) 225-5117|| Click here to email the Republican Leader

Sen. Burr Introduces Bill to Increase Employment of Military Spouses

Tax incentive encourages greater opportunity for employers, employees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced the Military Spouse Employment Act, legislation that will encourage employers to hire qualified military spouses by expanding the Workforce Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include military families.

“Military spouses are among our nation’s most valuable assets,” Senator Burr said. “These men and women are already sacrificing for our country, and we can’t let the hard facts of military life like relocations get in the way of their career and financial support for their families. By encouraging employers to hire military spouses, this tax incentive results in big returns with just a small investment.”

The Senator introduced this bill in light of recent studies that show that military spouses traditionally earn less income and have higher unemployment rates than their civilian counterparts due to frequent relocations. Using the WOTC would allow an employer to claim a tax credit of 40% of the first $6,000 in wages paid during the worker's first year of employment.

This legislation has the support of the Military Coalition, an alliance representing 5.5 million members in 35 organizations including AMVETS, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Military Officers Association of America. Representative John Carter (R-TX) introduced the House version of the bill (H.R. 4764) in March 2010.