Tester statement on banning Senate's secret 'holds'

Senator pushes to end practice of ‘singlehandedly’ stalling legislation

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after pledging to not place secret holds on nominees or legislation and calling on all Senators to end the practice:

“Like most Montanans, I have a hard time understanding how one Senator can singlehandedly bring the Senate’s work to a grinding halt, without even saying who they are or why they’re doing it.

“If I oppose a bill, or if I’ve got a problem with a nominee, I’ll let Montanans know why.  But it’s time to end the practice of individual Senators playing secret, anonymous politics and stalling the debates we need to have.

“Since I was elected, we’ve had some success making the Senate more transparent—like holding Senators accountable for their earmarks and making it more common for members of Congress to post their official schedules online.  But we’ve still got more work to do.”

Eighty nominations awaiting Senate confirmation are currently being blocked anonymously and without explanation. Most of those nominations were approved by their respective committees unanimously.

Tester cosigned a letter with more than 20 Senators demanding an end to the practice of secret holds.

Tester was the first member of Congress to post his daily public schedule on his website.