Before 1964, the United States Senate did not have an established set of rules or guidelines for ethics that the members were required to adopt, which also meant that when there was misconduct within Congress or the House of Representatives, investigations more than often went cold due to lack of “importance” of these cases. (Senate, History - About Us - U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics, 2015) The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics addresses just this. These issues went too long without reparation and so on July 24, 1964, Senator John Sherman Cooper proposed to make a bipartisan Select Committee on Standards and Conduct.
The Chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics is Senator Johnny Isakson from Georgia. Their ranking minority member (referred to as the Vice Chairman, along with 3 other committees; the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) is Senator Barbara Boxer from California. The jurisdiction of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics is derived from the Constitution and authority granted under law and Senate rules. There are various ways the committee’s jurisdiction is decided that came from both the Constitution, the Code of Ethics for Government Service and different Senate resolutions. They are there to regulate and supervise the ethical well-being of the Senate itself, and to receive cases that go against the law or violate their outlined specifications. Some examples are: Article 1, § 5, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution - “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.” Senate Resolution 338 (88th Congress), as amended - The Senate Select Committee on Ethics is authorized to receive and investigate allegations of improper conduct which may reflect upon the Senate, violations of law, violations of the Senate Code of Official Conduct and violations of rules and regulations of the Senate; recommend disciplinary action; recommend additional Senate rules or regulations to insure proper standards of conduct; and report violations of law to the proper federal and state authorities. (Senate, Committee Members - About Us - U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics, 2015). Currently, there are no subcommittees of this committee. (Merge, Congressional Comittees and Subcomittees, 2015)
The House of Representatives Committee on Ethics was established in 1967 and is to this day, the only standing Committee of the House to be evenly divided between both political parties. Similar to the Select Committee on Ethics, this committee is also in place to insure an ethical workplace, but also serve different purposes and unlike the Senate Select Committee, it is nonpartisan by rule. (Representatives, Committee History | House Committee on Ethics, 2015) Their main function is also mainly to regulate and investigate cases within the House. They are referred to as the “supervising ethics committee”. They supervise and advise members on travel, financial and gift disclosures. The chairman of this committee is Senator Charles W. Dent from Pennsylvania. The HOR does not refer to the ranking minority member as the Vice Chairman. The ranking minority member, though, is Linda T. Sánchez from California (Representatives, Committee Members | House Committee on Ethics, 2015). The jurisdiction of the Committee on Ethics is derived from authority granted under House Rules and federal statues. Some examples are: House Rule X, clause 1(g) The Committee on Ethics has jurisdiction over all bills, resolutions and other matters relating to the Code of Official Conduct adopted under House Rule XXIII. House Rule XXV, clause 5(h) All provisions of the gift rule are to be interpreted and enforced solely by the Committee on Ethics. The Committee is authorized to issue guidance on any matter contained in the rule. (Representatives, Jurisdiction | House Committee on Ethics, 2015)

* No subcommittees (Merge, Congressional Committees and Subcommittees, 2015)