Secret Senator Puts Secret Hold on Bill; Hilarity Ensues
Your Tax Dollars Indeed!
Is there a “Bridge to Nowhere” Connection?
From TMP Muckracker:
Who’s trying to stop the government from telling its citizens where their tax dollars are being spent? Help find out.
Just before the August recess, the Senate was set to vote on a bill introduced by Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) that would create a public, searchable database of all federal grants and contracts. Envisioned as a Google-like website, it would provide free, immediate access the information, which can be alarmingly difficult to obtain.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed the measure July 27th, and S.2590 seemed to be speeding on its way to full Senate passage when, in the dark of night, an unknown Senator placed a “secret hold” on the bill. According to Senate courtesies, the bill will never come to a vote as long as the hold continues.
From Instapundit:
The bill has the support of the Bush administration and activists on widely divergent sides of the political spectrum. It also passed a Senate committee without any objections, so the unknown senator is annoying many people. . . .
I’m looking forward to the unmasking of the culprit regardless of who the senator is and whether they are on the left or right. This is just plain wrong and a little public humiliation might help put this ridiculous practice (i.e., “secret holds”) out to pasture.
Update: Is it Republican Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens? RedState thinks so and think it might be a grudge over the pork-barrel “bridge to nowhere.”
Update: Moon explains everything you could ever want to know about the “secret hold” and what you can do about it if you don’t like it.
tags: secret senator senator stevens bridge to nowhere
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August 30th, 2006 at 5:15 am
This is no secret at all. It has been referred out of committee and is waiting to be placed on the calendar. The person ultimately responsible for doing so is Bill Frist. If he says they vote on it, they vote on it. Why he hasn’t felt compelled to put it on the agenda is open to speculation, it could be pressure from Stevens, but I seriously doubt he holds that sway over Frist. My guess is not that someone is resisting it, but that it just hasn’t gotten enough attention to get it past other “more important” issues.
I’ve had some experience working in DC, and dealing with the Senate and how it functions. There is no such thing as a “secret hold”. There may be a request which could be honored, but if the Majority Leader decides to put it to the floor, it goes, “secret hold” or not. Most often, people put a lot of political meaning and intent behind what is actually nothing more than omission or lack of interest. Just because people sign on to a legislation, it passes committee, and/or the President puts a rubber stamp on it does not mean in reality it has a lot of political interest behind it.
August 30th, 2006 at 7:12 pm
Apparently Ted Stevens staff has admitted he was the one who put a hold on the bill. According to redstate.com Robert Byrd also has a hold on the bill. I think the chances of this one passing are slim and none.
September 1st, 2006 at 6:09 am
Well, I had to check out this “secret hold” stuff since I had never heard of it before. This can occur ONLY in the Senate, as their rules allow for any Senator to place a hold on legislation anonymously. I don’t like that at all. However, per Bill Frist’s blog, 2590 will be voted on in September due to popular demand: http://www.volpac.org/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=438
September 1st, 2006 at 7:16 am
S 2590 and The Secret Hold
S. 2590 was a fairly obscure bill floating around the Senate. It’s not a wordy bill, so here it is: To require full disclosure of all entities and organizations receiving Federal funds Be it enacted by the Senate and House