WASHINGTON --- Sen. Chuck Grassley today scored a major victory in his fight to make the federal government more transparent. Grassley has long been an advocate for ending secret hold in the United States Senate. Today’s vote was the first roll call vote on legislation to end secret holds. The amendment to the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act passed 84 to 13. Grassley worked with Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and James Inhofe of Oklahoma on passing the secret holds amendment.
The amendment establishes a Standing Order requiring that holds be made public. It provides for a simple form to fill out, like adding a cosponsor to a bill. Senators have a full three session days from placing the hold to submit this form. The hold will then be published in the Congressional Record and the Senate Calendar.
“Being transparent about a hold doesn’t hurt. I’ve been putting a statement about any hold that I’ve placed in the Congressional record for nearly 10 years now, and I haven’t once been bloodied or battered,” Grassley said. “The Senate is the people’s business, and the people’s business ought to be public.”
Grassley said that eliminating the secrecy and anonymity of the holds process is one way to build greater confidence in the way the Senate conducts business. He said, “There is no greater time than now for the Senate to be open and transparent.”
“I believe if you have courage enough to put a special hold on legislation, you ought to have courage enough to say who you are and why you are doing it. I think your constituents ought to know that. But more importantly, just to get things done around here, your colleagues ought to know who it is because if you have a gripe, let's get the gripe out in the open and let's talk about it,” Grassley said.
In February 1999, then-Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and then-Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota notified all Senators wishing to place a hold that they would be required to notify the sponsor of the legislation and the committee of jurisdiction of their hold. In November 2003, a similar letter was sent by Majority Leader Frist and Daschle. The directive was not enforced and the use of secret holds returned to common practice.
Grassley and Wyden then introduced legislation in 2003 and again in 2005 to end the practice of secret holds. The Senate Rules Committee held a hearing in June 2003 and received the support of Lott and former Majority Leader Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Following Senate passage of the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act, the legislation will go to a joint House-Senate conference committee. However, the U.S. Constitution provides that each chamber determine its own rules. This provision only applies to the Senate making negotiation with the House unnecessary on this particular issue.
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