A divided Congress finds common ground on major legislation

Judy Woodruff:

This week in Congress, something happened that has been relatively rare in recent years. There was bipartisan agreement on multiple pieces of legislation.

Bills tackling the U.S. Postal Service's financial struggles and a major issue raised by the MeToo movement are moving forward with support from both sides of the aisle.

For more, I'm joined by our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins.

Lisa, is it really true? Is this happening?

(LAUGHTER)

Judy Woodruff:

So let's talk first about the…

Lisa Desjardins:

It is really true.

(LAUGHTER)

Judy Woodruff:

Let's talk first about the piece of legislation that does seem to be moving forward quickly. And that is the one addressing sexual harassment, sexual assault.

Tell us what's in it and what's bringing the two sides together for it.

Lisa Desjardins:

Judy, this is an important bill in many ways, not least of which the fact that it is not marginal.

This is a sweeping bill that addresses one of the major issues raised by the MeToo movement, workplace sexual harassment and sexual assault.

And I want to help viewers understand the system as it sits now. In America right now, many countries require their employees — many companies require their employees, when they sign up for the job, to agree that any harassment claims will go through something called arbitration, that that employee is signing away their right to take those claims to court.

That is called forced arbitration. The employee is silenced. Their claims are not heard in public. And it is clear that what has happened in many of these workplaces is that that culture of harassment has just grown in that kind of silence.

Meanwhile, those who have been harmed by it, we know by the American Association of Arbitration, one of the arbitration groups, they say 1.6 percent of the time do those people claiming harm get any payment from it, because they are not permitted to go to court. This is a system right now. And it is a problem that many have raised.

Congress just last night in the House passed a bill that would wipe away that system. Here's what this bill would do.

First, it would ban the idea of forced arbitration in sexual assault and sexual harassment claims. And it would allow any of those people who were making such claims to sue in court.

Now, it also would cover not just workplace harassment, but it would also cover contracts that you and I sign every day, including perhaps when we take a ride using a phone app, or some of the agreements people sign when they are hiring moving companies. This would mean that no one could force someone into arbitration over these kinds of claims.

Now, this is something that has made a lot of headlines, but I want to bring it home to what this has meant to some of the people who were affected.

I want to play a sound bite of a woman who spoke at a hearing last year about what she went through in the workplace when the founder of her company, the company Afiniti, harassed her and, in fact, actually assaulted her. And she was not able to speak out publicly until she was subpoenaed by Congress.

Here's the sound bite from last year.

Tatiana Spottiswoode, Former Afiniti Employee:

Forced arbitration is the reason Chishti is able to carry out this ongoing campaign of retaliation against me, my family, and probably other victims.

Today, as I speak here, I am afraid of the consequences for my family that will arise from my speaking out. I have PTSD. I have nightmares. I used to be a very social person, and I no longer am. The person who changed my life forever continues to abuse me, because forced arbitration gives him the power to do it in secret.

Lisa Desjardins:

Now, how did this happen?

I want to show you the dealmakers who negotiated across partisan lines to reach a deal on this. In the House, we have Cheri Bustos of Illinois. She reached out to Virginia Republican Morgan Griffith. In the Senate side, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York working with Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. These are not people that agree on many things.

Why did Republicans get on board, Judy? Gretchen Carlson of FOX News, is my reporting, was a major factor. As you know, she had a problem with forced arbitration herself at FOX News. And she reached out to Republicans, including Lindsey Graham, who knew her, and said, this is something Congress has to deal with.

We expect this bill to pass the Senate and move to the president as soon as tomorrow.

Judy Woodruff:

Very, very interesting.

So, Lisa, another bill that is receiving bipartisan support, postal reform. Tell us where that stands and what it would do.

Lisa Desjardins:

I will run through this quickly, but the post office is — obviously faces a tremendous amount of red ink.

So here's what's going on with this bill that has also passed the House this week. It would save the Postal Service some $50 billion, and it would move postal retirees into the Medicare system. It would protect six-day delivery, which I know a lot of Americans rely on.

And this bill now also has very good prospects in the Senate. No timing on that yet. This is a difficult issue that, again, Congress is moving on very quickly.

Judy Woodruff:

And two other quick things.

Lisa, some other significant bipartisan bills this week.

Lisa Desjardins:

You reported on one, the spending bill, the omnibus appropriations bill. There was a deal on that today, which is very vital to many government agencies, including the military. Republicans and Democrats agreed on how much we should spend in defense and non-defense.

Another one, also, the Violence Against Women Act, that has sat in limbo. In fact, it languished for three years unauthorized. And now there is a deal also to renew the Violence Against Women Act, that announced today.

Judy Woodruff:

And, finally, Lisa, as all this coming together is happening, we know that, on a personal level, there have been some tensions at the Capitol.

Lisa Desjardins:

That's right.

Yesterday, Representative Joyce Beatty, who is the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, asked a Republican, Hal Rogers of Kentucky, to put on a mask when they were riding on a subway car. He refused. And, in fact, he poked her in the back and he said to her, "Kiss my" and then he used a word that begins with A and has three letters.

Of course, she was insulted. And she demanded an apology. He — Hal Rogers did, in fact, apologize later.

But this is the kind of disrespect and cultural change that I really haven't — had not seen in Congress until recently. Hal Rogers is someone who is generally polite to reporters in the hallway. The fact that he was so disrespectful to a high-ranking member is significant to me.

So, these personal tensions are very real.

Judy Woodruff:

Lisa Desjardins reporting on all of this.

Thank you, Lisa.