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Tesla announces Semi prices, raises reservation cost to $20,000 Neil Abt, Fleet Owner / November 27, 2017 Tesla announced on its website the price for its Semi Class 8 electric truck will start at $150,000 for a model with a 300-mile range, and $180,000 for a 500-mile range. The company also said it increased the per-order reservation price for the trucks to $20,000. At the unveiling event earlier this month, CEO Elon Musk said that figure was $5,000 per vehicle. In addition, Tesla said it was offering a “Founders Series” model for an upfront charge of $200,000, which guarantees receiving one of the first 1,000 Semis produced. Tesla claims the truck will have the lowest cost of ownership when it hits the road in 2019. It said electric energy costs are half of diesel and that the Semi will provide at least $200,000 in fuel savings over the life of the vehicle. Additional information such as the weight of the vehicle and other specifications have not yet been released. Separately, officials with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach told the Daily Breeze they have met with Tesla engineers to learn about the truck. It is part of the effort to reach zero emissions for all on-road equipment by 2035, said Chris Cannon, director of environmental management for the Port of Los Angeles.

Tesla’s Newest Promises Break the Laws of Batteries Transport Topics / November 27, 2017 Elon Musk knows how to make promises. Even by his own standards, the promises made last week while introducing two new Tesla vehicles—the heavy-duty Semi Truck and the speedy Roadster—are monuments of envelope pushing. To deliver, according to close observers of battery technology, Tesla would have to far exceed what is currently thought possible. Take the Tesla Semi: Musk vowed it would haul an unprecedented 80,000 pounds for 500 miles on a single charge, then recharge 400 miles of range in 30 minutes. That would require, based on Bloomberg estimates, a charging system that’s 10 times more powerful than one of the fastest battery-charging networks on the road today—Tesla’s own Superchargers. The diminutive Tesla Roadster is promised to be the quickest production car ever built. But that achievement would mean squeezing into its tiny frame a battery twice as powerful as the largest battery currently available in an electric car. These claims are so far beyond current industry standards for electric vehicles that they would require either advances in battery technology or a new understanding of how batteries are put to use, said Sam Jaffe, battery analyst for Cairn Energy Research in Boulder, Colorado. In some cases, experts suspect Tesla might be banking on technological improvements between now and the time when new vehicles are actually ready for delivery. “I don’t think they’re lying,” Jaffe said. “I just think they left something out of the public reveal that would have explained how these numbers work.” Here are four of Tesla’s most provocative battery claims—and an attempt to puzzle out how they might be achieved. Truck Range: Haul 80,000 Pounds for 500 Miles When Musk took the stage in an airport hangar in Hawthorne, California, his first proclamation was the Tesla Semi’s range: A fully-loaded truck would be able to travel at highway speeds for 500 miles. The previous record-holder, unveiled by Daimler in October, is a truck that maxes out at 220 miles. A heavy-duty, long-range truck is the toughest vehicle to electrify while still turning a profit, said Menahem Anderman, president of Total Battery Consulting Inc., in Oregon House, California. Tesla may be doing it to prove a point. “If you can make a semi truck with batteries,” Anderman said, “then you can make everything else with batteries.” Tesla is making its trucks more efficient by reducing wind drag to levels that are comparable to those of sports cars. But even if Tesla achieves record-breaking efficiency for the truck, it would still require a battery capacity somewhere from 600 kilowatt hours to 1,000 kilowatt hours to deliver on Musk’s claims, according to estimates from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Split the difference, at 800 kWh, and it would mean a battery that weighs more than 10,000 pounds and costs more than $100,000—even before you build the truck around it. Tesla has priced the truck with 500-mile range at $180,000, less than the estimated prices of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, and says fuel savings will result in a two-year payback when compared to diesel. One thing Tesla has going for it is the falling price of batteries. Musk may be banking on battery improvements between now to the early 2020s in order for its truck to make financial sense. The first Tesla Semis won’t hit the road until late 2019; even then, production would probably start slowly. Most fleet operators will want to test the trucks before considering going all-in. By the time Tesla gets large orders, batteries should cost considerably less. Tesla Megachargers: 400 Miles in 30 Minutes Musk’s claim that the truck will be able to accumulate 400 miles of charge in 30 minutes would allow the Semi to achieve the first true long-haul ranges in the industry. A driver might start the day with 500 miles of range, top off the battery at lunch, and be able to complete driving the U.S. legal limit of 11 hours in a day with range to spare. But doing so would require a charger unlike anything seen before. “I don’t understand how that works,” said Salim Morsy, electric vehicle analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “I really don’t.” Tesla is claiming charging speeds that are faster than anything available now, and its customers will pay well below average market rates to access the network. Tesla’s current generation of high-speed Superchargers have a power output of 120 kilowatts and can add about 180 miles to the battery in a Model S sedan in 30 minutes. But that’s for a passenger car, not a loaded truck. To meet Tesla’s claim of 400 miles in 30 minutes for a semi carrying 80,000 pounds would require its new Megachargers to achieve output of more than 1200 kW—or more than 10 times better than Tesla’s fastest chargers available today. Joe Fath, fund manager for T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Tesla’s seventh-largest shareholder, said that prior to the unveiling he thought Tesla’s heavy-duty truck might be able to address about a quarter of the hauling tasks performed by the largest heavy-duty freight trucks, known as Class 8 semis. In North America alone, these big trucks account for about $30 billion in sales each year, according to industry data tracked by Bloomberg. The promises in Musk’s presentation persuaded Fath that Tesla will be able to compete in nearly two-thirds of the Class 8 market. “If they execute,” he said, “they have a very big opportunity.” Guaranteed Charging Rates of 7 Cents per kWh The sticker price of any electric truck, regardless of size, is going to be higher than its diesel equivalent because of the batteries, which alone can cost as much as some standard diesel trucks. The $180,000 Tesla Semi will compete with diesels that cost as little as $100,000. The trick is to offset those higher upfront costs through lower maintenance and fuel savings. Perhaps Tesla’s most head-scratching revelation is that it will guarantee truckers electricity rates of 7 cents per kilowatt hour. That could result in fuels savings of more than $30,000 a year for some truckers, according to Bloomberg estimates. Partly, Musk said, this will be done by adding solar power and massive battery packs at the charging stations. While the economics of such a plan vary by region, under any scenario that BNEF’s Morsy expects, Tesla will be heavily subsidizing those electricity rates for customers. He estimated that Tesla will pay a minimum of 40 cents per kilowatt hour, on average, for every 7 cents paid by a trucking company. “There’s no way you can reconcile 7 cents a kilowatt hour with anything on the grid that puts a megawatt hour of energy into a battery,” Morsy said. “That simply does not exist.” That may sound like a disastrous financial plan, but it’s no different from what Tesla does for its current Supercharger network. Tesla offers free electricity to most of its Model S and Model X customers while paying almost $1 per kilowatt hour to produce it, Morsy said. That amounts to a subsidy of as much as $1,000 per car in 2017. Many electric utilities base their commercial rates on the peak amount of electricity that a customer draws at one time, even if that peak occurs only for a brief period. Tesla’s Megacharger stations would incur extremely high charges by drawing so much power so quickly. The best chance for mitigating those charges are to build Megachargers at existing truck terminals that already draw a lot of power, Morsy said, and by adding massive battery packs that can spread demand over time. From another perspective, these subsidies to support Megachargers could be a boon to Tesla’s balance sheet as it wades into an entirely new industry. It allows the company to maximize its upfront revenue by charging a lot for the trucks while spreading out the cost of building and operating the charging network over time.

Trailer-Body Builders / November 27, 2017 In October, commercial vehicle registrations across the EU gained momentum, showing positive growth (+10.7%) compared to one year ago, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Demand was sustained across all segments, except for buses and coaches. Among the five big markets, Spain (+20.9%), France (+18.6%) and Germany (+14.5%) recorded the highest gains, while the United Kingdom (-9.8%) performed significantly less well than in October last year. From January to October 2017, demand for new commercial vehicles remained positive in the EU, with almost 2 million new vehicles registered – up 4.0% compared to last year. Spain continued to drive growth (+15.1%), and so did France (+7.7%), Germany (+3.3%) and Italy (+1.8%). UK demand, however, contracted (-3.9%) over this period. New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16 tonnes and over In October, demand for new heavy commercial vehicles grew by 5.3% after posting a decline in September. Results were diverse across the five big EU markets, with registrations falling in the UK (-18.3%) and demand going up in France (+20.7%), Italy (+7.3%) and Germany (+5.7%). In total, 28,521 heavy trucks were registered in the EU last month. So far in 2017, the HCV market posted a modest increase (+0.9%), counting 247,065 new vehicle registrations. The Italian market saw the strongest gains (+13.7%), followed by France (+6.0%). Demand for heavy commercial vehicles remained relatively stable in Germany (+0.1%) and Spain (-0.04%). New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5 tonnes October 2017 registrations of new trucks were 3.9% higher than in October last year, totaling 34,336 new units. Growth was sustained across all major EU markets, except for the United Kingdom. From January to October 2017, 305,259 new trucks were registered in the EU – a stable performance (+0.3%) when compared to last year’s results. Italy (+10.7%) and France (+5.8%) did very well so far in 2017, while truck registrations decreased in the UK and Germany (-4.5% and -1.2% respectively). New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5 tonnes In October, demand for new buses and coaches fell for the second consecutive month, down 13.4% and totaling 2,703 units. Demand contracted strongly in the five big EU markets except for Spain, which posted double-digit growth (+22.4%). Over the first 10 months of 2017, the EU bus and coach market remained more or less stable (+0.3%), counting 32,859 new vehicles registered. The UK and France saw demand fall by -17.7% and -11.8% respectively, while new bus and coach registrations increased substantially in Italy (+31.6%) and Spain (+13.1%). New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 tonnes October 2017 results show a robust increase (+12.7%) in EU demand for vans. All major EU markets contributed positively to last month’s growth, except for the United Kingdom. The Spanish and German markets accounted for the strongest growth (+25.0% and +19.9% respectively), while LCV demand contracted in the UK (-7.4%). Ten months into the year, more than 1.6 million new vans were registered across the European Union, up 4.8% compared to the same period in 2016. Spain (+17.2%), France (+8.3%) and Germany (+5.1%) maintained momentum, while demand for light commercial vehicles declined (-3.5%) in the United Kingdom.

I suspect there is/was a cover-up. But they ensured that it's impossible for us to connect the dots.

Did you call John Chalmers? Two other suppliers that come to mind are: http://www.restorationspecialties.com/ http://metrommp.com/

Ford Trucks Press Release / November 24, 2017 Masters of the burden! Thanks to the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) in your Ford Cargo truck, harmful particles are cleansed via an exhaust filtering process. Moreover, you can easily track the occupancy rate in the exhaust filter from the exhaust information screen and safely continue on your way. Ford Trucks and You – "Sharing the Load" At Ford Trucks, we’re serious about trucking. It's why we designed the new 2017 Cargo heavy truck range from the ground up to meet your needs and expectations. See your authorized Ford heavy truck dealer for details. .

Ford Trucks Press Release / November 24, 2017 Automatic descending auxiliary axles are now mandatory in many countries. In your Ford Cargo truck, you can depend on Ford’s “AutoDrop” automatic descending auxiliary axle system for trouble-free, high-performing operation. Ford Trucks and You – "Sharing the Load" At Ford Trucks, we’re serious about trucking. It's why we designed the new 2017 Cargo heavy truck range from the ground up to meet your needs and expectations. See your authorized Ford heavy truck dealer for details. .

Scania Group Press Release / November 27, 2017 Scania Touring has swept the board in the leading Italy-based European newsletter ‘BusToCoach’s’ comparative test of eleven 2-axle coaches from six bus builders. With 18.2 litres/100 km, Scania Touring’s fuel consumption was an impressive 12-percent lower than the runner-up and all of 31 percent better than the coach that performed poorest. BusToCoach lined up coaches from Irizar, Iveco, Mercedes, Setra and Temsa for a fuel duel that included 347 kilometres of varied road conditions in Lombardy, Piacenza and Liguria. The results for the Scania Touring HD 12.1-metre coach surprised even seasoned bus experts. “The results have exceeded all expectations in terms of consumption, plus a remarkably interesting purchase price,” the publication writes. “The consumption turned out to be better than any optimistic prediction.” The newsletter asks itself how this outstanding result was at all possible. It admits that the test was carried out in a relatively moderate average speed of 77.4 km/h and that the air conditioning was only in operation half of the time. Notwithstanding, BusToCoach found that the low fuel consumption could primarily be attributed to Scania’s 13-litre SCR-only engine, the automated Scania Opticruise and Scania Active Prediction. In addition to the fuel consumption, the newsletter praised Scania Touring for its “very good interior quietness for both passengers and the driver, and the well-finished trim.” .

I have installed this Jegs relay kit on my vehicles and found a significant difference, even with stock bulbs. http://www.jegs.com/i/Painless-Performance-Products/764/30815/10002/-1 I use Philips X-tremeVision bulbs because of the quality, enhanced range, and their being legal. (They're available on Amazon) https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/philips-xtreme-vision-130-h4-twin

Earhart was held on Saipan USA Today / November 26, 2017 HAGATNA, Guam — A man with ties to Saipan shared information that promotes a theory that Amelia Earhart was brought to the island and held prisoner 80 years ago. William “Bill” Sablan, who lives on Chamorro, said his uncle Tun Akin Tuho worked at the prison where Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were taken prisoner in Saipan. The History Channel shared the theory that the two were taken prisoner in a recent TV special called Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence. The theory says Earhart was captured and executed on Saipan by the Empire of Japan. The U.S. government and military knew it (and even found and exhumed her body). And both governments have been lying about it ever since. Sablan’s uncle’s story fits this theory. In 1971, he was speaking with his uncle and cousin about his dream of becoming a pilot when his uncle mentioned the people that were held prisoner in Saipan. His uncle described an American woman and man taken to a Saipan prison in the mid-1930s by ship. He said they were found with a plane on a southern Pacific Island under Japanese control. Sablan said Earhart was brought to Saipan, for it was a hub for the Japanese. His uncle said that he remembers the woman and man because Caucasian people were rare on Saipan. The prison was usually quiet, but the pair's arrival caused a commotion. “They had no reason to be there,” Sablan said. His uncle said the plane they were flying was dropped somewhere in the ocean before coming to Saipan. The uncle said that the two were in the Saipan prison for two or three days before they were killed. Sablan said it's possible the U.S. found and relocated the remains. According to news files, in 1960 a CBS radio man, Fred Goerner, spoke with at least a dozen reliable witnesses from Saipan, who shared that before the war, two white people arrived on Saipan — described as “flyers” or “spies” — and they were held in the Japanese jail. They said the flyers were tall and one of them was a woman, but her hair was cut short and she was wearing men’s clothing, files state. The year was 1937, the same year Earhart and Noonan were lost. The theory rests on an ambiguous photograph, said to have been taken in 1937, that might show Earhart and Noonan alive on a dock in the Marshall Islands. At the time, the islands were controlled by Japan.

The Ahrens-Fox(ECB/FCB)/Beck/Mack C-Series ranks in my mind as the most beautiful and functional fire apparatus we ever built.

Tesla electric semi's price is surprisingly competitive Engadget / November 23, 2017 Starting at $150,000, it's not much more than a regular semi and will cost less to run. When Tesla unveiled its semi electric truck last week, everyone agreed that it looked cool, but some actual truckers weren't necessarily sold on its functionality. Most observers will be impressed with the pricing if it holds, though. Tesla has listed estimated price on its Semi website for the 300- and 500-mile versions of $150,000 and $180,000 respectively, less than some pundits predicted. The high-spec Founders Series will cost $200,000. Looking at the $180,000 model, it's still around $60,000 more than a diesel-powered truck. However, the Tesla tractor could cost around 20 percent less to run, Tesla estimates, putting savings over a million miles at around $250,000. The Tesla truck will improve the trucker experience with an Enhanced Autopilot (automatic emergency braking, automatic lane keeping and lane departure warning) that will improve safety for drivers and other vehicles. It also features jackknife protection, sensors and cameras meant to reduce blind spots. For a truck it'll also have superb acceleration. Some critics are wondering how Tesla can sell the truck so cheaply. Some estimates have put the cost of the 1 MWh battery alone at up to $400,000, so as Electrek speculates, Tesla must have some new technology or other tricks up its sleeve to be able to make the economics work. Potential buyers aren't spooked by the unknowns, though -- Canadian grocery chain Loblaws was the first to jump onboard with a big order, and retail giant Walmart also plans to test the truck.

The big problem is the lack of good availability of 865/866 engine parts.

Volkswagen Truck & Bus / November 10, 2017 Equipped with a V-Tronic automated manual transmission (AMT) and planetary hub reduction rear axles, the new model 32.360 is ideal for extreme operations in the construction and mining segments. The truck’s Cummins ISL engine, rated at 360 horsepower and 1,600 Nm of torque, is paired with a 16-speed ZF automated manual transmission. EBD works in conjunction with the truck’sABS system, distributing the braking force between the wheels of the vehicle. In addition to ATC, which prevents the wheels from skating, EasyStart enhanced terrain ascent and maneuverability in narrow and confined locations. The rear axles are fitted with inter-axle as well as intra-axle differential locks to overcome the most difficult terrain. "The vehicle is designed to run under the most difficult terrain conditions. Each detail was developed to meet requests from customers requiring the robustness and reliability of Volkswagen trucks, "says product marketing engineer Vinícius Arantes. The Constellation 24.260 "Robust" Tipper Constructor is another important new model, a 6x2 dedicated to the support operations in the off-road segment, with metal construction fenders, new engine calibration, Eaton transmission planetary hub reduction rear axle and mixed-use tires. This is an incoming truck for the operation, tailored to the application, with the best operational cost of the segment. The two new models increase the vocational contractor's family and will be available for sales from the beginning of 2018. Volkswagen Truck’s Constructor range represents the most robust in the portfolio of our vocational trucks, combining high-tech, high performance and service to meet the most demanding operational requirements. .

Paccar Australia's sales marketing is very good, and noticeably better than Paccar in the US.

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Renault Trucks Press Release / November 17, 2017 Preparing for the future of urban freight transport together, Renault Trucks and Groupe Delanchy have just developed an all-electric truck equipped with a refrigerated box for delivering fresh produce. Groupe Delanchy will deliver produce to Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse (France’s largest covered food market) using this low-noise, non-polluting 100% electric 13-tonne Renault Trucks D experimental vehicle. Groupe Delanchy, which specialises in temperature-controlled transport and logistics, and Renault Trucks, a pioneer in the field of electromobility, are continuing their collaboration that began fifty years ago. Throughout this time, Renault Trucks and Groupe Delanchy have always been focused on the future and have made clear their commitment to developing new technologies that are environmentally friendly. Today, in relation to electromobility, they have jointly developed this 100% electric experimental vehicle. It is equipped with a Chereau temperature-controlled box and a Carrier refrigeration unit, fully powered by the vehicle's traction batteries: a first on this type of truck. Although being an experimental vehicle, this 13-tonne electric truck will be used under real operating conditions in Lyon, the historic birthplace of Renault Trucks. This city has also played an important part in Groupe Delanchy’s history: with the introduction of its first route in 1968, fresh produce could to be transported from Lorient to Lyon in less than 24 hours. On a daily basis, the 100% electric Renault Trucks D will leave Groupe Delanchy's distribution hub in Corbas, in the suburbs of Lyon, to deliver seafood and fresh produce from Lorient to Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. “We are very pleased, in more ways than one, with the arrival of this new 100% electric truck,” explains Joseph Delanchy, President of Groupe Delanchy. "As part of our long-standing partnership with Renault Trucks, of course, but also in the commitment we have made to our customers, our employees and, more broadly, for future generations. This ‘zero-emission’ truck is a first step towards new technologies that are evolving very rapidly. We will evolve with them, as we have always done." "This partnership illustrates the robustness of the relationship we have with our customers," emphasises Bruno Blin, President of Renault Trucks. "The inclusion of this vehicle in Groupe Delanchy’s logistics plan perfectly illustrates our vision for road freight transport, namely a high-performance diesel vehicle for long distance transport and a zero-emission vehicle to cover the final kilometres". This zero-emission truck is the ideal solution for maintaining air quality and reducing congestion in the city centre, because it allows noise-free deliveries to be made during anti-social hours, maintaining peace and quiet for residents. Because it produces no polluting emissions, this vehicle also helps maintain the area in which the operatives are working, the unloading dock at the Halles de Lyon, which is a confined space in the basement.David Kimelfeld, President of the Lyon Metropolitan Area, says: "The Lyon metropolitan area supports and encourages all initiatives that seek to improve the quality of urban logistics, which lies at the heart of major challenges for the metropolitan area of Lyon, including businesses that depend on it, air quality and environmental noise, CO2 emissions, and traffic flow in the city centre. The community is also the first to have adopted a framework for deliberation that establishes a genuine public policy in favour of urban logistics.” This 100% electric rigid chassis vehicle will supplement the 700 Renault Trucks of the Delanchy, group. .

Mark, I generally don't care for conventionals to begin with (though Oz-spec Powerstars and Western Stars are nice). My preference was always the F Model and highly advanced MH Ultra-Liner. Versus the Volvo or Anthem, I'd rather be in a Cruise-Liner. Nowadays, though I'm biased towards the virtually perfect Scania range, many COE's meet my expectations.

There is no better place to be a sexual predator than the U.S. Congress. Think Progress / November 21, 2017 Congress has created an elaborate system that protects sexual predators on Capitol Hill, including members of Congress and their staff. In the private sector and elsewhere in the government, victims of sexual harassment have the option of immediately filing a lawsuit and getting their grievances heard in court. But Congress has created a much different set of rules for victims who work on Capitol Hill. The 180-day statute of limitations to request “counseling” In order to pursue accountability for a sitting member of Congress for an alleged incident of sexual harassment or assault, a victim must file a written notice with the Office of Compliance within 180 days of the incident. If they don’t act within 180 days, they have no ability to pursue their claims. Furthermore, the form to file such a complaint is password protected; a victim must call the Office of Compliance to get the password to initiate the process. The 30-day “counseling” period After filing the complaint, the person alleging harassment or assault must participate in a 30-day counseling period. Yes, in Congress, the victims of sexual harassment must submit to counseling, as if there is something wrong with them. During this period, no one else — including the alleged harasser — is even notified the complaint has been filed. The Office of Compliance puts a sunny face on this process, saying it “provides the employee with an opportunity to assess his/her case before deciding whether to pursue the claim(s) beyond counseling.” In other words, the process starts with a 30-day waiting period in which the victim is given the “opportunity” to consider dropping the entire matter. The 15-day statute of limitations to request mediation After going through the counseling process, the alleged victim has just 15 days to file a request for mediation. If they fail to do so, the claim is extinguished. The form to request mediation is also password protected and must be obtained from the Office of Compliance. The 30-day mediation period After the counseling process, the alleged victim is still prohibited from filing a case in court. Rather, they must enter mandatory, confidential mediation which lasts at least another 30 days. The mediation period involves “the employing office, employee, and [Office of Compliance] mediator.” The purpose of the mediation, according to the Office of Compliance, is to “resolve the dispute.” The individual alleging harassment or assault is also required to keep this mediation secret. “All mediation shall be strictly confidential, and the Executive Director shall notify each person participating in the mediation of the confidentiality requirement and of the sanctions applicable to any person who violates the confidentiality requirement,” according to the poorly named Congressional Accountability Act, which governs the process. The alleged perpetrator may not even be involved in this process, even if the claim is settled. John Conyers, whose case was settled through mediation, claimed he was unaware of any allegations against him — although sources tell BuzzFeed he did know [of course he was told]. There are also indications of misconduct within the Office of Compliance. Conyers’ settlement was confidential but documents were leaked to BuzzFeed. The taxpayer-funded sexual harassment settlement As part of the mediation process, the parties can reach a settlement to resolve the dispute. But this settlement is not paid by the person who actually conducted the sexual harassment. Rather, the settlement is paid by you, the taxpayer. “Only funds which are appropriated to an account of the Office in the Treasury of the United States for the payment of awards and settlements may be used for the payment of awards and settlements under this chapter,” the Congressional Accountability Act states. This is why Conyers did not have to pay a penny of his own money to settle claims against his alleged victims. According to the Washington Post, the Office of Compliance has paid more than $17 million over the past two decades to settle complaints regarding violations of workplace rules, including but not limited to sexual harassment cases. But BuzzFeed’s reporting indicates this doesn’t get at the scope of the problem. At least one settlement with a woman who alleged Conyers harassed her was paid from Conyers’ office budget, not from the Office of Compliance. The 30-day waiting period and 60-day statute of limitations for filing a complaint After making it through counseling and mediation, the victim must wait 30 days before doing anything. It’s unclear what this waiting period is for, other than to pressure the victim to accept a settlement offer or drop the claim. The victim then has just 60 days to either file an administrative complaint with the Office of Compliance or file a case in federal district court. The form to file an administrative complaint is also password protected. If the victim does not take any action within 90 days of the end of mediation, the claim is extinguished. The secret administrative hearing The administrative proceeding, unlike a federal court case, is also confidential and presents another opportunity for a perpetrator to keep the allegations secret [Why?]. The hearings are closed to the public [Why?]. (The hearing officer is empowered to dismiss any claim without a hearing if he or she judges the claim to be “frivolous.”) The responding party is not the individual that engaged in sexual harassment, but the office that employed that person. A record of the proceedings are only made public if the victim is successful. If the victim disagrees with the decision, he or she must appeal first to the board of the Office of Compliance. After the Office of Compliance issue their decision, the victim may appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That means there will be no independent evaluation of the evidence, rather the appeals court simply reviews for arbitrary or capricious application of the law, a very high legal standard. If the victim wins in the administrative hearing, the payment is made from taxpayer money. They are not entitled to receive civil penalties or punitive damages under the law. This keeps both the awards and the settlements fairly low. Over 20 years, Congress has paid $17.1 million to 264 victims, a figure that includes sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination — an average award of about $65,000. A federal case against a congressional office, not the person engaging in sexual harassment After all this, a victim still cannot sue a member of Congress or other staff member who engaged in sexual harassment [Why?]. Rather, if a victim chooses to forgo the administrative hearing, he or she can file a federal case against the office where the sexual harassment allegedly occurred. In this case, victims are still not entitled to civil penalties or punitive damages. This makes the choice to file a suit, in most cases, prohibitively expensive since even a successful case will not bring in a large award. Whatever money is awarded still is not paid by the sexual harasser but by taxpayers. https://thinkprogress.org/sexual-predator-congress-0802dc2ef524/