Directing the Committee on Ethics to preserve and publicly release records of the Committee's review of violations or alleged violations of clause 9 (as it pertains to acts of sexual harassment) and clause 18 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

Plain-English Summary

This bill directs the House Committee on Ethics — the body responsible for investigating misconduct by members of Congress — to preserve and publicly release its records related to two specific types of rule violations. The first involves sexual harassment allegations against House members (covered under a rule known as clause 9 of Rule XXIII), and the second involves a broader ethics rule (clause 18 of Rule XXIII) that prohibits members from engaging in conduct that reflects poorly on the House of Representatives.

In simple terms, if the Ethics Committee has reviewed complaints or investigations involving sexual harassment or related misconduct by House members, this bill would require that those records be kept safe and made available to the public rather than remaining sealed or potentially destroyed. This is about transparency — making sure that past investigations and their outcomes don't disappear from the historical record or stay hidden from the American people.

This bill primarily affects current and former members of the House of Representatives who may have been subject to ethics investigations, as well as staff, complainants, and others involved in those proceedings. It also affects the general public by giving ordinary Americans access to information about how their elected representatives have been held accountable for misconduct. The bill passed by a strong bipartisan vote of 357 to 65, suggesting broad support across party lines for increased transparency in this area.