On the recordMay 13, 2010
I join my colleagues in support of the effort Senator Wyden and Senator Grassley have led to end the corrosive practice of secret holds. This is a reform that is needed and cannot wait. I have been in Washington for only about a year, but it did not take that long to realize our government needs to fundamentally change the way it does business. Coloradans deserve a government that works for them. They are tired of the petty partisanship in Washington. They want their elected officials to listen and address their day-to-day concerns. I cannot think of a worse example of this dysfunction than the secret hold. It is undemocratic, and it is hurting our economy. Quite a few of us in the Senate--the chairman and I--have young daughters, young kids who are familiar with the ups and downs of a long car ride heading out on vacation. The first hour always seems to go pretty well, full of excitement about where everybody is headed. But it is not long before that excitement turns to restlessness and that restlessness turns to secretly doing everything they can to bother their siblings just for the sake of doing it. And every time you turn around, they stop and smile and claim their innocence. It never occurred to me that experience would actually prepare me to come to the Senate. Countless nominations and important legislation make their way to the floor.
