On Wednesday, when the 112th Senate opens it’s first session, it has to adopt a set of rules governing how they will conduct business. They do that at the first of each Congressional session. This time, however, instead of adopting the previous session’s rules, they need to adopt a set of rules that fixes not just the filibuster rules, but the ‘secret hold’ rules within that overall framework of rules.
Over the past two years we’ve seen bill after bill blocked for months, if not killed entirely, by GOP Senators who merely announce their intent to filibuster a bill … and then go to dinner. In those same two years, more than 400 House-passed bills went unnoticed by the Senate. Key governmental posts have been left vacant longer than during any period in our Country’s history, all because of ‘secret holds’ placed by one Senator or another.
I really don’t have a problem if one side in the debate wants to filibuster one bill or another. I do have a problem when all they have to do is say “I’m going to filibuster that bill,” and it sits on hold forever. If they want to filibuster a bill, I expect 40 Senators to pony up to their seats in the Senate chamber and begin speaking about why that particular bill is bad and why it therefore should not see the light of day on the Senate floor for a debate on its merits. And I expect them to speak continuously about that bill, not read a book or a shopping list or anything not related to the bill. When they run out of awful things to say, I expect to see a vote take place on the floor as to whether the bill can be advanced in the consideration process to be debated and amended on the floor of the Senate.
As to the ‘secret hold’ … I do, however, have a serious problem. The original intent of this rule was to give a particular Senator more time to read, research and consider the provisions of a given bill before a vote was taken to bring it to the floor for debate and amendment. The hold was ‘secret’ to allow unfettered attention by that Senator to be given to the bill while it was on hold. In the past two years, however, the ‘secret hold’ provision has been severely abused by the minority party and in essence used as a virtual ‘file 13′ for bills with which they have issues.
On the first day of the 112th session, the Senate’s rules can be changed with a simple majority vote … rather than two-thirds majority. It is past time for senators to reflect on our rules, how they incentivize obstructionism; how they inhibit, rather than promote, debate; and how they prevent bipartisan cooperation.
I’ve written both Senator Reid and Senator Ensign regarding the Senate’s broken procedural rules. Have you written your Senators yet and asked them to take action on Wednesday to fix not just the filibuster rule, but the ‘secret hold’ rule as well?
Related Posts:
- WP: A Senate new year’s resolution: Fixing a broken set of rules (1/4/2011)
- HP: Fixing the Filibuster (2/12/2010)
- MDN: Editorial—Fixing the Filibuster (12/13/2010)