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The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), established by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008, is an independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and their staff and, when appropriate, referring matters to the United States House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, commonly referred to as the Ethics Committee. ==Overview== As its mission, the office strives to “give the public a 'window' into ethics enforcement in the United States House of Representatives.” 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 OCE lacks subpoena power and must complete each review in a relatively short period of time—approximately three months at most. The OCE review process requires approval of the board at each step. In order to open a preliminary review lasting no longer than 30 days, there must be "reasonable cause to believe allegations," according to the OCE. In order to proceed to a second phase, or further review, there must be "probably case to believe allegations." The second phase may last no longer than 59 days, including optional 14-day extension. Following completion of second phase review, the OCE board votes to refer a matter to the House Ethics Committee with a recommendation for or against further review by the committee. The recommendation comes in the form of a report which must be released to the public unless the OCE recommendation was against further review. Consequently, the OCE has published nearly two dozen reports on members believed to have violated House rules—leading to cheers from government watchdog groups and to calls by some in Congress for gutting the office, which requires reauthorization at the beginning of each new Congress. "The extent and level of ethics scrutiny the OCE has brought is unprecedented in the House," according to The Hill newspaper, in a Sept. 8, 2010 article on the future of the office. At least 20 of the OCE's referrals on sitting members of the House of Representatives were published on its website in its first Congressional session of operation—a demonstration, according to the Washington Post, that the office "has taken its mission seriously." Although the office does not have subpoena power, it has played a significant role in 2010 investigations concerning alleged ethics violations by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and former Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Office of Congressional Ethics」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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