Ron Wyden: “Being an election year, this is a recipe for an explosion of an extraordinarily powerful Senate practice. . . the use of…”

“Being an election year, this is a recipe for an explosion of an extraordinarily powerful Senate practice. . . the use of secret holds. On Monday evening, Senator Grassley and I came to the floor to put members on notice that we would be offering the same amendment we offered last year on anonymous holds. We discussed the Century-old Senate tradition of members being granted the courtesy of ``holding'' a debate until they are available to participate. We believe this venerable Senate practice should continue. As a public institution, however, we believe the use of holds should occur in the full light of day. We believe in the not-so-radical notion that the public's business should be done in public. The amendment we are offering is identical to an amendment that the Senate adopted last Fall. The amendment would eliminate the secrecy of the Senate's holds procedure. It would simply require that any Senator who notifies leadership of an intent to object to a motion to proceed make that objection public within 48 hours.”