About

The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) is an independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against Members, officers, and staff of the United States House of Representatives and, when appropriate, referring matters to the House Committee on Ethics. In all but one set of circumstances, the report and findings of the OCE Board must be publicly released.

The mission of the OCE and its Board is to assist the House in upholding high standards of ethical conduct for its Members, officers, and staff and, in so doing, to serve the American people.

Governed by an eight-person Board of Directors, Members of the OCE Board are private citizens and cannot serve as members of Congress or work for the federal government. The current members are:

Porter Goss, Chair

David Skaggs, Co-Chair

Yvonne Burke

Jay Eagen

Karan English

William Frenzel

Allison Hayward

Abner Mikva

History of the OCE

The House voted to create the OCE on March 11, 2008. The Speaker and Minority Leader jointly appointed the eight-member Board on July 24, 2008. Following its appointment, the Board conducted a search for and hired a staff director and chief counsel in November 2008.

The OCE was reauthorized in the 111th Congress on January 5, 2009. On February 23, 2009, the Board adopted the current version of its rules for investigations and code of conduct and began reviewing allegations of misconduct.

The OCE was reauthorized in the 112th Congress on January 5, 2011.

The OCE publishes a statistical summary of the Board's actions on a quarterly basis. The reports and findings of the Board are made public according to the OCE's authorizing resoution. These referrals are available here on the OCE website.