News
Who would block legislation promoting more openness in government, especially when it has strong bipartisan support? We don't know, but an unnamed U.S. senator is doing just that. Whatever this mysterious senator's agenda is, and we have no way of knowing, the tactic tarnishes the integrity of the entire institution.
The "senatorial hold" is an arcane custom so secret it's not even part of the Senate rules. It allows any senator to delay legislation, or a presidential appointment, indefinitely. It can be done secretly, though the perpetrator's identity often is well-known, if not public. Holds sometimes have stopped something bad from happening, but far more often, they serve a single lawmaker's agenda while obstructing the public's business.
A bill sponsored by Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois would create a database of all government contracts, grants and loans, including the amount and terms. This database would be available to the public. Last year, such contracts and grants consumed $2.5trillion of taxpayer funds; such a database is of vital interest to the public.
The bill sailed through the Senate Homeland Security Committee by voice vote and seemed headed for certain passage. Then someone put it on hold. We don't know why, but we can guess.
The bill's sponsors say they expect it ultimately to be freed for a vote in the full Senate. But the tactic should be banned. It's an anachronism.
Permitting holds panders to the vanity of senators with motives that do nothing to enhance the integrity of the institution. Seasoned diplomats have had their careers stalled or, in some cases, ended prematurely just to indulge that vanity. A few senators have sought to bar holds, but every attempt has failed. That's a failure of good governance.
The "senatorial hold" is an arcane custom so secret it's not even part of the Senate rules. It allows any senator to delay legislation, or a presidential appointment, indefinitely. It can be done secretly, though the perpetrator's identity often is well-known, if not public. Holds sometimes have stopped something bad from happening, but far more often, they serve a single lawmaker's agenda while obstructing the public's business.
A bill sponsored by Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois would create a database of all government contracts, grants and loans, including the amount and terms. This database would be available to the public. Last year, such contracts and grants consumed $2.5trillion of taxpayer funds; such a database is of vital interest to the public.
The bill sailed through the Senate Homeland Security Committee by voice vote and seemed headed for certain passage. Then someone put it on hold. We don't know why, but we can guess.
The bill's sponsors say they expect it ultimately to be freed for a vote in the full Senate. But the tactic should be banned. It's an anachronism.
Permitting holds panders to the vanity of senators with motives that do nothing to enhance the integrity of the institution. Seasoned diplomats have had their careers stalled or, in some cases, ended prematurely just to indulge that vanity. A few senators have sought to bar holds, but every attempt has failed. That's a failure of good governance.
