Friday, June 18, 2010

Ending Secret Holds?

Freshman Senator Claire McCaskill (MS-D) has made a bid to end secret holds in the US Senate. This practice allows any single Senator to secretly stop business from happening, just one whether in minority or majority. There is something a tad odd:

The thing about the practice, though, is that you won't find it written down anywhere.

"I don't think the word even appears," said Senate Historian Donald Ritchie. "It's obviously a very powerful instrument used by every senator. It gives them a lot of influence over the administration and gives them individual clout."

Since I'm no Parliamentarian I can't make too much of this but that it is abused in secret isn't a real secret. I suppose one question for Senators is whether the body is of any real use to American politics or simply an impediment?

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