Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the Committee on Senate Resolution 151, a resolution introduced by Senator Grassley for himself and others that would require public disclosure of notices of objections (or "holds") to proceedings to motions or matters in the Senate. This resolution, also known as the Wyden-Grassley initiative, proposes a change in Senate Rule 7 to require senators to publicly disclose their holds in the Congressional Record not later than two days after placing a hold.
Although I fully agree with the intent of this reform to end the secrecy that often accompanies senators' holds, I have some reservations about the approach taken in the resolution. For the reasons offered below, I would favor a more forceful effort to limit the obstructive bite of holds—one that would temper the excesses of individualism in the Senate, yet preserve the right of a minority to conduct extended debate.
Full testimony (PDF—93kb).