Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I wish to join my colleagues in expressing our support for Senator Wyden's continued efforts to get this rule changed. The circumstances in which these secret holds take place are quite remarkable. Over and over again we see a committee vote clearing a nominee for the floor, often unanimously, or by heavy, huge bipartisan majorities; clearly qualified candidates; clearly candidates who enjoy bipartisan support and, in many cases, candidates who are unanimously supported. Even in this contentious and cantankerous time in this body, they come through the committee with that kind of support. Then they come through on the floor in some cases 98 to 0, 100 to 0. But between that unanimous committee vote and the unanimous floor vote is an endless, endless, endless delay. Many of them stack up and never get that floor vote. We have had as many as 100 stacked up, waiting for that floor vote on the Executive calendar. What is happening between a unanimous committee vote and a unanimous floor vote that creates all this hassle and delay and leaves people in limbo for months and months, 100 at a time on the Executive calendar, all of whom are in responsible positions in our Federal Government that we need to have staffed? It is the secret hold. It is the secret hold where you don't have to disclose who you are so you don't have to disclose why you are holding. Because you don't have to disclose who you are or why you are holding, you don't have to have a good reason.…”