Brooks: The OCE has an important role to play in restoring confidence in Congress

Washington, D.C. – Last night, the House Republican Conference adopted an amendment to the House Rules that makes some reforms to the manner in which the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) conducts its work. Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (R-IN05), incoming Chairwoman of the House Ethics Committee, released the following statement. 

“The Office has an important role to play in restoring confidence in Congress, and it will continue to perform its work in the new Congress as the Office of Congressional Complaint Review. As the incoming Chairwoman of the House Committee on Ethics, I will work in a bipartisan manner with the Office to ensure its independence and to maintain the highest ethical standards of the House. I will not interfere with the bipartisan independent board that governs the Office or prevent it from doing its work.”

The amendment offered last night by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA06) helps ensure OCE’s important work is conducted in the manner by which it was intended in the new Congress. The amendment does not change the core mission of the Office of Congressional Complaint Review – accepting and reviewing complaints by the public regarding Members and staff and making a recommendation to the House Ethics Committee regarding those allegations. The Office will continue to be governed by a bipartisan independent board with ultimate decision-making authority. The Office is still expected to take in complaints of wrongdoing from the public. It will still investigate them thoroughly and independently. And the outside board will still decide whether or not evidence exists to warrant a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Some of the changes implemented by the amendment include:

• OCE was often confused with the House Ethics Committee.  By changing OCE’s name to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, the amendment aims to eliminate this confusion.
• The amendment provides greater due process rights to Members, Staff, and other witnesses that appear before the Office of Congressional Complaint Review.
• The amendment conforms the jurisdiction of the Office to the jurisdiction of the House Ethics Committee by limiting review of allegations to the third previous congress
• Since its implementation, the Office has operated without any oversight.  The amendment provides an avenue for the House to ensure the Office of Congressional Complaint Review continues to perform its important work of independently reviewing complaints by the public.