We’ve reached a watershed moment in the U.S. House of Representatives, one that we’ve come close to many times before but have failed to address. I’m not talking about health care, tax reform, or the rollback of women’s rights and environmental regulations. I am talking about ending generations of abusive behavior that has not just been ignored or tolerated, but excused and in some ways encouraged by the stunning failure to address sexual harassment in the halls of Congress.

This issue is nothing new, but the viral #MeTooCongress campaign has brought it back into the spotlight. We finally are paying attention to reports of rampant sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, tech industry, media and state legislatures across the country. It’s clear that sexual harassment has been the cost of doing business while female for far too long.

After the launch of #MeTooCongress, my office has been inundated with calls from current and former Capitol Hill staffers subjected to inexcusable behavior and — in some cases — assaults. From comments like “Are you going to be a good girl?” to harassers exposing their genitals, women and men have confided their stories. It’s clear that the Good Old Boys Club mentality of Capitol Hill still persists after all these years; it is perhaps the worst I’ve seen in 30 years of working on these issues.

The source of this epidemic in Congress is a complete lack of the mandatory anti-harassment training that exists in every other modern workplace in America, and a toothless and abusive complaint process that protects the institution and betrays the most vulnerable. I have heard from witnesses that the “mediation” is actually cover for being harangued and threatened by legal counsel for the harasser. Worse, to even proceed to the mediation phase, the survivor must agree to a nondisclosure agreement that has no end, something unheard of in the private sector.

Throughout this agonizing time, the survivor must continue to work in his or her office alongside the harasser, without saying a word to friends or family, and while the employer knows that the victim is pursuing a complaint. While the harasser and the office are represented by House of Representatives counsel, the survivors must pay for their own legal representation or face House counsel on their own.

Mediators who have taken part in this process have told me it’s one of the worst, if not the worst, processes they’ve seen. Victims are forced to listen to House counsel detail all the ways their “career will be ruined.” Is it any wonder that many staff do not file formal complaints?

For the few survivors who forge ahead and secure a settlement agreement, there is no public notification or disclosure of the office involved or the amount of funds paid — a bill that is footed by taxpayers. There is zero accountability.

At the end of this ordeal, the survivor is faced with personal, professional and financial catastrophe, the perpetrator is free to continue preying on others, and there is little incentive for Congress to change the process. This has to stop.

It is why I introduced the bipartisan Congressional Education About Sexual Harassment Eradication Resolution, or CEASE Resolution, this month. The resolution requires annual sexual harassment training for members and staff of the House of Representatives. Furthermore, I am introducing a second bill to drastically overhaul the deeply flawed complaint process.

There is some good news, however. I started working on this issue in the House in 2014, and I am proud to say that for the first time many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle appear galvanized by the wave of horror stories that have emerged and have pledged action. My two bills will prevent this abuse from being swept under the rug, and it will turn the current system that protects harassers into one that supports victims.

We can all agree that this is not a partisan issue, and it’s one that both Republicans and Democrats have no excuse for failing to address. The time to act is now.

Jackie Speier represents San Mateo County and a portion of San Francisco in the U.S. House of Representatives. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.