Secret hold
Encyclopedia
In the United States Senate
, a hold is a parliamentary procedure
permitted by the Standing Rules of the United States Senate which allows one or more Senators to prevent a motion
from reaching a vote on the Senate floor.
If the Senator provides notice privately to his or her party leadership of their intent (and the party leadership agreed), then the hold is known as a secret or anonymous hold. If the Senator actually objects on the Senate floor or the hold is publicly revealed, then the hold is more generally known as a Senatorial hold.
." In practice, this means that a Senator may privately provide notice to his/her party leadership
of intent to object to a motion. The leadership can more easily schedule business if they know in advance which unanimous consent requests are likely to receive objection.
The original intent of these sections was to protect a Senator's right to be consulted on legislation that affected the Senator's state or that he/she had a great interest in. The ability to place a hold would allow that Senator an opportunity to study the legislation and to reflect on what it means before moving forward with further debate and voting.
According to Congressional Research Service
research, holds were not common until the 1970s, when they became more common due to a less collegial atmosphere and an increasing use of unanimous consent to move business to the floor.
Holds, like filibusters, can be defeated through a successful cloture
motion. However, the time required to bring around a cloture vote often allows fewer than 40 senators to block unimportant legislation when the majority is not willing to force the vote. The countermeasure to excessive holds may be increased determination on the part of the leadership to bring up measures despite holds, but the delay involved in cloture votes constrains the leader's ability to do this.
was put on secret hold. This bill, intended to encourage transparency within government, was considered by political pundits to be an especially ironic target of a secret hold and much attention was drawn to the bill and to the procedure itself. Bloggers and political activists sought to identify the Senator or Senators responsible by process of elimination, by having constituents contact each Senator and requesting a specific on-the-record denial of placing the secret hold. Within 24 hours, 96 Senators had explicitly denied that they had placed the secret hold, leaving only 4 Senators still suspected and under growing public scrutiny as a result. On August 30, a spokesperson for Senator
Ted Stevens
of Alaska
announced that Stevens had placed a hold on the bill. On August 31, 2006, Sen. Byrd
also admitted placing a hold on the bill. Ultimately, the bill passed the Senate unanimously.
During the 110th Congress, Senator Tom Coburn
put holds on a significant number of bills, raising the ire of the leadership and forcing them to package many of the bills with holds into one Omnibus Act (the so-called "Tomnibus") at the beginning of the 111th Congress. Some Senators—such as Senators Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley
, both Democrats representing Oregon—have complained that the hold system makes it too easy to block legislation, that the leadership should not honor holds on the floor unless the Senator is personally there to object.
The practice was successfully banned in 1997, but only temporarily. Majority leader Trent Lott
and minority leader Tom Daschle
altered the rule so that anyone intending to hold a bill had to notify the bill's sponsor and the chair of the appropriate committee. That year, the result was that opponents of a bill would wait until the bill was before the entire Senate before announcing their opposition, wasting time and ultimately delaying other popularly-supported legislation in the process. The practice was soon re-instituted.
Enacted on September 14, 2007, the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
of 2007" amended the Senate rules to require public notice of holds within 6 session days.
On April 22, 2010, 69 senators signed a letter to Senate Leaders Reid and McConnell pledging that they would not place secret holds on legislation or nominations, and requesting changes in Senate rules to end the practice.
On January 27, 2011, the Senate voted 92–4 to pass a resolution that would require any hold to be entered into the Congressional Record
two days after it is placed, unless the hold is lifted within the two-day period. If the Senator that placed the hold does not come forward or remove the hold within the two day period, the hold will be attributed to the party leader, or the Senator that placed the hold on behalf of the "secret" Senator.
Although a hold is placed anonymously, the identity of the senator placing the hold can quickly become common knowledge. Under traditional dictates of Senate courtesy, the identity of the holder is not made public. However, senators have become increasingly willing to identify colleagues who place holds, in all but name.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, a hold is a parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...
permitted by the Standing Rules of the United States Senate which allows one or more Senators to prevent a motion
Motion (democracy)
A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. It is a common concept in the procedure of trade unions, students' unions, corporations, and other deliberative assemblies...
from reaching a vote on the Senate floor.
If the Senator provides notice privately to his or her party leadership of their intent (and the party leadership agreed), then the hold is known as a secret or anonymous hold. If the Senator actually objects on the Senate floor or the hold is publicly revealed, then the hold is more generally known as a Senatorial hold.
Origin and intent
Sections 2 and 3 of Rule VII (Morning Business) of the Standing Rules of the Senate outline the procedure for bringing motions to the floor of the Senate. Under these rules, "no motion to proceed to the consideration of any bill...shall be entertained...unless by unanimous consentUnanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...
." In practice, this means that a Senator may privately provide notice to his/her party leadership
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
of intent to object to a motion. The leadership can more easily schedule business if they know in advance which unanimous consent requests are likely to receive objection.
The original intent of these sections was to protect a Senator's right to be consulted on legislation that affected the Senator's state or that he/she had a great interest in. The ability to place a hold would allow that Senator an opportunity to study the legislation and to reflect on what it means before moving forward with further debate and voting.
According to Congressional Research Service
Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service , known as "Congress's think tank", is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a...
research, holds were not common until the 1970s, when they became more common due to a less collegial atmosphere and an increasing use of unanimous consent to move business to the floor.
Holds, like filibusters, can be defeated through a successful cloture
Cloture
In parliamentary procedure, cloture is a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. It is also called closure or, informally, a guillotine. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French for "ending" or "conclusion"...
motion. However, the time required to bring around a cloture vote often allows fewer than 40 senators to block unimportant legislation when the majority is not willing to force the vote. The countermeasure to excessive holds may be increased determination on the part of the leadership to bring up measures despite holds, but the delay involved in cloture votes constrains the leader's ability to do this.
Controversy
In August 2006, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 is an Act of Congress that requires the full disclosure to the public of all entities or organizations receiving federal funds beginning in fiscal year 2007. The website opened in December 2007 as a result of the act, and is...
was put on secret hold. This bill, intended to encourage transparency within government, was considered by political pundits to be an especially ironic target of a secret hold and much attention was drawn to the bill and to the procedure itself. Bloggers and political activists sought to identify the Senator or Senators responsible by process of elimination, by having constituents contact each Senator and requesting a specific on-the-record denial of placing the secret hold. Within 24 hours, 96 Senators had explicitly denied that they had placed the secret hold, leaving only 4 Senators still suspected and under growing public scrutiny as a result. On August 30, a spokesperson for Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
announced that Stevens had placed a hold on the bill. On August 31, 2006, Sen. Byrd
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
also admitted placing a hold on the bill. Ultimately, the bill passed the Senate unanimously.
During the 110th Congress, Senator Tom Coburn
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills...
put holds on a significant number of bills, raising the ire of the leadership and forcing them to package many of the bills with holds into one Omnibus Act (the so-called "Tomnibus") at the beginning of the 111th Congress. Some Senators—such as Senators Ron Wyden
Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee "Ron" Wyden is the senior U.S. Senator for Oregon, serving since 1996, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1996....
and Jeff Merkley
Jeff Merkley
Jeffrey Alan "Jeff" Merkley is the junior United States Senator from Oregon. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley was a five-term member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly representing House District 47, located in eastern Multnomah County within the Portland city limits...
, both Democrats representing Oregon—have complained that the hold system makes it too easy to block legislation, that the leadership should not honor holds on the floor unless the Senator is personally there to object.
Attempts to amend or abolish this rule
Throughout the history of the Senate, multiple unsuccessful attempts have been made to abolish this practice. Common reforms which have been discussed include time limits on holds, requirements that a hold not cover a wide variety of business, publication of holds, or needing more than one senator to place a hold.The practice was successfully banned in 1997, but only temporarily. Majority leader Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
and minority leader Tom Daschle
Tom Daschle
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
altered the rule so that anyone intending to hold a bill had to notify the bill's sponsor and the chair of the appropriate committee. That year, the result was that opponents of a bill would wait until the bill was before the entire Senate before announcing their opposition, wasting time and ultimately delaying other popularly-supported legislation in the process. The practice was soon re-instituted.
Enacted on September 14, 2007, the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 is a law of the United States federal government that amended parts of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995...
of 2007" amended the Senate rules to require public notice of holds within 6 session days.
On April 22, 2010, 69 senators signed a letter to Senate Leaders Reid and McConnell pledging that they would not place secret holds on legislation or nominations, and requesting changes in Senate rules to end the practice.
On January 27, 2011, the Senate voted 92–4 to pass a resolution that would require any hold to be entered into the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
two days after it is placed, unless the hold is lifted within the two-day period. If the Senator that placed the hold does not come forward or remove the hold within the two day period, the hold will be attributed to the party leader, or the Senator that placed the hold on behalf of the "secret" Senator.
Attempts to evade loss of anonymity
Since U.S. Senate rules require the entering of the senator's name into the public record after two days, senators commonly circumvent the limit by using what is called a 'tag-team' on a hold. 'Tag-Teaming' a hold requires at least two senators that want to hold the legislation indefinitely. The first senator (anonymously) places a hold on the legislation, and then, before his or her name is entered into the record, releases his or her hold. The second senator then places an (anonymous/secret) hold on the legislation and repeats the action, releasing his or her hold before the 2 day window is up. The first senator then takes over the hold, and the process repeats itself indefinitely.Although a hold is placed anonymously, the identity of the senator placing the hold can quickly become common knowledge. Under traditional dictates of Senate courtesy, the identity of the holder is not made public. However, senators have become increasingly willing to identify colleagues who place holds, in all but name.