The U.S. Public Research Interest Group and five other open-government outfits have sent a letter to congressional leaders supporting the Office of Congressional Ethics in its ongoing spat with the House Ethics Committee.

The House Ethics Committee recently challenged the performance of the new OCE regarding an ethics matter and the two organizations remain locked in a turf battle.

"In taking this action, the Ethics Committee left the public impression that it seemed more concerned about the activities of the OCE than it was about the ethics inquiry involved," said the letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,D-Calif. and House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

At issue is whether the House Ethics Committee has the authority to take over investigations from the OCE. U.S. PIRG and friends feel it does not.

"One of the major reasons for the establishment of the OCE was to address the problem of ethics matters disappearing in the past into a 'black hole' at the Ethics Committee and never being addressed, without anyone having to take formal responsibility for the failure of Congress to do anything about the ethics matter," said the letter.

The signers (Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters and Public Citizen) said the OCE is "doing an excellent job."