Jackie Speier pushing for sexual harassment reforms by year's end

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., is hoping the increased national attention on sexual harassment and assault in the workplace will help her push through legislation to strengthen the rules in Congress by the end of 2017.

Speier's spokesperson said that she and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., are recruiting cosponsors for the Member and Employee Training and Oversight on Congress Act, or the Me Too Congress Act. They're signing up lawmakers in pairs, adding one Republican and one Democrat at a time.

Staff didn't give specific numbers, but said support for major reforms in Congress for handling sexual harassment and assault allegations is strong, and that lawmakers aren't having any trouble finding supporters.

"The momentum seems to be strong. Hopefully that will continue and something will be done before the end of the year," the spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.

The effort couldn't be more timely, as the wave of sexual assault that hit Hollywood has now crashed into Washington politics. Alabama's Republican Senate candidate, Judge Roy Moore, has been accused by several women of assault and inappropriate advances, and on Thursday, sitting Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was hit by accusations of assault that were accompanied by a picture of him groping a journalist as she slept.