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Byrd unapologetic about 'secret hold' on spending bill
By Rebecca Carr
Cox News Service
September 1, 2006
WASHINGTON — In a new twist in this week's Capitol Hill whodunnit, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., acknowledged Thursday that he also placed a "secret hold" on legislation that would open up the hidden world of government contracts to public scrutiny.
Byrd and Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, two of the most skilled purveyors of federal funds, used the parliamentary maneuver to stop legislation that would create a searchable database of some $2.5 trillion in federal spending.
"Senator Byrd wanted time to read the legislation, understand its implications, and see whether the proposal could be improved," said Tom Gavin, press secretary for Byrd.
The bipartisan block on legislation introduced by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., prompted much speculation on Capitol Hill and the blogosphere.
Conservatives and liberals alike had trouble understanding why a senator would oppose a measure that would give the public an easy way to track federal grants, contracts, financial assistance and insurance spending.
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously endorsed the bill on July 27. The bill's cosponsors included the leaders of both parties.
The mystery launched an Internet-based inquiry as bloggers called every Senate office to determine who was responsible for holding up the bill. The tally reached 98 before Byrd announced that he was lifting his hold after examining the measure.
"We're delighted Senator Byrd has lifted his hold," said John Hart, Coburn's press secretary. "There is no reason to deny taxpayers the ability to track how their money is spent."?
Both Byrd and Stevens, senior members of the Senate, are unapologetic about using their "secret hold" power to keep the legislation from hitting the floor just before Congress recessed on Aug. 4.
"The American people ought to demand that bills receive scrutiny by senators before those bills are approved," Gavin said. "We have seen the consequences of rushing legislation through the Senate without any time for review or understanding."
Despite lifting the hold, Byrd still wants the bill to be "debated and opened for amendment, and not pushed through without discussion," he said.
But reopening the bill for amendments could harm its chances of passage because of the tight legislative time frame and full agenda that Congress faces when it returns next week, said Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, a government watchdog group based in Washington.
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