Wyden, Grassley, Senate Rules Committee Leaders Announce Offensive Against Secret Holds

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Trent Lott (R-MS) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) today announced a new offensive against the Senate’s practice of secret holds, under which a single Senator can block legislation or a nominee without revealing his or her identity.

Wyden has worked with Grassley for more than a decade to end the practice of secret holds. Their amendment requiring a Senator who places a hold to make it public within three days was included in the Senate version of lobbying reform legislation.

At a morning news conference, Wyden, Grassley, Senate Rules Chairman Lott and Ranking Rules Member Dodd outlined their plans for eliminating secret holds, which undermine the credibility of the Senate.

The Senators announced that they would all push to ban secret holds before the end of this session in the lobby reform bill or, failing that, in other appropriate legislation that comes before the Senate.

Most recently, in March, the Senate voted 84-13 on a Wyden-Grassley amendment requiring Senators to announce their opposition to legislation or a nominee in the Congressional Record within three days. The provision was included in the Senate version of the lobbying reform bill.

“Secret holds undermine the accountability and credibility of the U.S. Senate as an institution and do damage to individual Senators whose legislation can be held hostage by an unseen and unknown opponent,” Wyden said. “Let me make an important distinction. We are not saying there should not be holds: we are saying that whoever puts a hold on legislation or a nominee ought to stand up and state their reasons for doing so. No Senator should ever expect to introduce legislation or support a nominee with the idea that there will always be a smooth path with no objections. Nor should they have to navigate a minefield of unknown opposition.”

“Holds are the prerogative of every Senator. But, with this powerful tool must come public accountability. The Senate is the people’s business and the people’s business ought to be public. Our constituents have every right to know if any of us are stopping work from getting done,” Grassley said. “I don't think any of us will hear complaints from constituents that we're being too transparent, and we can get problems and gripes out in the open where we can solve them. If there's a valid purpose to the hold, there's no reason to hide it from the American people."

“We must make the legislative process fairer and more transparent. That’s why I believe we ought to have enacted months ago comprehensive lobbying reform legislation at least as strong at that passed by the Senate, which included this provision banning secret holds,” Dodd said. “Secret holds undermine the confidence of Americans in the process and ultimately in the laws we write. Simply requiring senators to make public their concerns and objections to legislation or nominees would be a modest step toward greater accountability and transparency. Hopefully we can get this done yet this year as a part of comprehensive lobbying reform. But time’s running out; Republican leaders must act now if we’re to get comprehensive lobbying reform enacted this year.”

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Henry Ruark September 16, 2006 1:09 pm (Pacific time)

E.Q.: Appreciate your appreciation of "persuasive-affective" style, but never knew it had such powerful wireless effect --and affect, too, judging by your continued comments. Mine re mail address meant to assure same dialog-approach ongoing now for thirty years with whole group over the nation...you are welcome to join, but first must surrender that anonymity, which I understand but deplore...you deserve better, so stand up and send address !!

eqriddler September 16, 2006 12:29 pm (Pacific time)

Hank, your problem with meeting here is I might say something you can't control. Do you assert that the FAR right is different than the right and it t'other is the FAR left? All this is off subject.

Henry Ruark September 16, 2006 9:03 am (Pacific time)

E.Q.: We gotta stop meeting like this...send yr mail address to Tim ! Re rest, boils down to simple difference in political philosophy; One does as demanded to profit for FAR Right, while t'other seeks to do what's right for all --which is after all what Oath of Office is about -- as for Saxton, PLEDGED to oppose ANY tax-rise no matter how absolutely essential to commonweal.

eqriddler September 15, 2006 11:59 pm (Pacific time)

Hank, scared stiff implies a deadly threat which is a misdirection of the actual sense of dread. People need love and significance at the most basic level then a sense of safety is necessary to experience those emotions. The tendency is to get stuck obtaining prerequisit security which is greed and also become intoxicated by the feeling of significance. Giving to get as in congressional power brokers and multi-national corporations is the dirty little secret that's been played so worn that it's a great institution now. The dread they would feel comes only as form of comfort zone change. What would happen if a senator had to involuntarily step down? His feeling of significance would be impacted and his pay would be impacted but he would go on, in some other direction and find another life. That's the worst case senerio possible for the power broker and it's not that bad when most other people die of worst case senerios. And they know that too but they get stuck "securing" their position hence the transactional lobbying. Now it's just a commonly accepted part of congressional life and both parties enjoy it. So, this feature won't ever change unless attitudes about what constitute personal freedom and security change and that won't happen for 30 to 40 years. The secret holds are the same kind of excipient but since holds are necessary, the attachment of the secrecy charateristic is less problematic. The anti-secrecy law becomes an inconveinence and not a dread at all. Wyden is not a great defender of the truth because this small issue is one of his greatest credits. It does reach across party lines but the impact is too light which is going to make him crave, as he does, the more prominence.

Henry Ruark September 15, 2006 6:40 pm (Pacific time)

EQ: May have changed since my D.C. experience bud don't think so...truth is they are scared stiff to have people like us find out what's REALLY going on. Works that way at State level, too...which is why honest reporting detailed and checkable is so important. Also why "campaign contributions" work so well, just so long as "transactional lobbying" can be concealed.

eqriddler September 15, 2006 1:06 am (Pacific time)

The reason the holds were kept secret was because senators didn't WANT to explain why. They felt it unnecessarily cumbersom to give a detailed account of issues they understood well but others did not. That would leave the open to those who want to nit pic and maybe cause problems for their enemy "the other party". But, fling open the doors of information if it's so important to the people of the united states of America. But consider the world is also studying the reasons and what insights it would give them too.

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