The Office of Government Ethics: History, Procedures and Jurisdiction - Government Procedures and Operations

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 created the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to provide "overall direction of executive branch policies related to preventing conflicts of interests on the part of officers and employees of any executive branch agency. OGE is an independent agency that provides guidance, training, and administrative support to agency and department ethics offices on the wide range of ethics, financial disclosure, and conflict of interest provisions of federal law and executive orders as described in chapter 1. Chapter 2 describes the history and rationale behind the creation of the OCE, its operations, and its relationship with the House Committee on Ethics. Chapter 3 outlines the background of ethics enforcement in the House of Representatives, including the creation of both the Select Committee on Ethics and the Committee on Ethics. Chapter 4 reports on the background of ethics enforcement in the Senate, including the creation of the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct and the subsequent renaming of the committee as the Select Committee on Ethics.