The Secret Hold is Good for Small Government
Brian Darling /
The Senate is engaging in a debate today on a Wyden/Grassley Amendment to the War Supplemental spending bill that will further restrict the rights of minority members in the Senate to slow passage of expensive legislation and controversial nominees.
Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have an amendment to end the rights of Senators to place a so called “Secret Hold” on nominations and legislation. A hold is the threat of a filibuster and a means for one member to force the Senate to follow its own rules. Abolishing the hold is a terrible idea for the advocates of small government because the practical effect would be to rid the Senate of rules and traditions that protect the wallet of the American people.
First of all, the hold really isn’t a problem because most of the bills passed by the Senate today are conducted under unanimous consent agreements without holds. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) points out that “94% of all bills pass (the Senate) by unanimous consent.” Conservatives are upset with the bullying tactics of the majority in the Senate who want to pass those other 6% of bills with no real consideration or participation by the American people. DeMint argued today on the Senate floor that “what this means is that 94%” of all bills pass with “no debate, no vote, no reading of the bill, no online disclosure…” (more…)