Washington (CNN) - The House passed legislation Thursday in a 402-14 vote that will provide funds for expanded sexual harassment training for all members and their staff.
Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of California introduced the measure as an amendment to the legislative branch spending bill. The legislation allocates $500,000 from that bill to pay for the effort, and Speier ultimately wants the training to become mandatory.
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"The American people expect us to conduct ourselves in a manner befitting the responsibilities and duties that we hold as members of Congress–not like we are freshman at a frat house," Speier said Thursday morning on the House floor.
The move comes after Rep. Vance McAllister, R-Louisiana, announced this week he will not seek re-election this fall after the married lawmaker was caught on camera kissing a staff member in his office.
Speier's office, however, said the measure was not prompted by the incident involving McAllister.
While the congressman's name was never mentioned in the debate, Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, said embarrassing "recent events" have brought renewed attention to the issue of sexual harassment.
"We cannot allow 'Mad Men' style antics to occur in our offices," Lowey said, referring to the popular AMC television series.
For her part, Speier alluded to past incidents in Congress and noted other public scandals involving sexual harassment, such as teenage pages being sexted on the House floor and staff members being "groped" and "inappropriately touched."
She also brought up former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who stepped down from his mayoral office last year after facing several allegations of sexual harassment. The Democrat was a member of the House for nearly two decades prior to becoming mayor in 2012.
Speier has also been actively involved in legislation aimed to stop military sexual misconduct.
"It's just as important that we bring the same scrutiny to our own House," she said.
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Sexual harassment training is already mandatory in the Executive Branch, she added, but training for Congress is only voluntary. The Congressional Office of Compliance provides the training, though it's not typically requested until after an incident is reported, she said.
Speier added she and her staff have taken the 90 minute training, and "as much as I know about sexual harassment, I learned additional things during that training."
The $500,000 would be used to implement a web-based training program, as well as educational outreach to inform staff members of their rights, she said.
The proposal was met with no opposition on the House floor, and the amendment was added to the bill.
Rep. Candice Miller, R-Michigan, said "this is certainly not a partisan issue."
"We have seen incidents over the years of Republicans and Democrats – both sides of the aisle here," she continued.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, thanked Speier for introducing the amendment and said it was something Republicans are "more than happy to accept."