On the recordJanuary 27, 2011
with the passage of this resolution, no longer will it be possible for a Senator to engage in the unconscionable practice of secretly blocking a piece of legislation that affects millions and millions of Americans. The fight for more sunshine in the way the Senate does business feels like it has been the longest running battle since the Trojan War. Today, after scores of battles, the cause of open government is going to prevail. Over the years, Senator Grassley and I, with the strong support of Senator McCaskill, have been able to secure leadership agreements to end secrecy. We have been able to pass amendments to end secrecy and send them to conference committees--where they would then magically disappear. We actually, at one time, got a watered-down version of our law passed. In each case, the defenders of secrecy have found a way to keep sunshine out and obstruct the public interest. When this proposal passes, we believe there will be real change. There are three reasons why we believe our bipartisan proposal to end secret holds will be different from previous approaches. First, now with any hold here in the Senate, there would be a public owner. Every single hold would have a Senator who is going to be held accountable for blocking a piece of legislation. Second, there will be consequences. In the past, there have never been any consequences for the Senator who objected anonymously.
