Ethics agency referred 13 cases for review

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- The Office of Congressional Ethics recommended the House Ethics Committee review 13 of 32 cases it opened during the 112th U.S. Congress, a report said.

The OCE was created in 2008 to review allegations of wrongdoing by members of Congress and refer matters that needed further investigation and attention to the ethics committee, Roll Call reported Tuesday.

The agency released its end-of-year report Tuesday though it did not list the specific names or incidents that were reviewed.

Roll Call said some of the recent referrals to the agency included Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., who allegedly asked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to contributed $25,000 to an anti-incumbent super PAC; and Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., who allegedly took a trip to Taiwan at the partial expense of lobbyists for the country's government. Former Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, were also referred to the ethics committee.

In addition to the 32 cases the OCE reviewed, 10 others were dismissed, Roll Call reported.