Senators 'hold' up business

A useful tidbit of information- Through the years, we have fought against so many BAD laws from being passed. We keep hearing how "there's not enough votes to stop it". Well have a look at this-

Senators 'hold' up business
By Emily Poe
Congress.org
11-18-2010

The White House does not have a budget director, but it's not for lack of trying.

Though President Obama nominated Jacob Lew to be director of the Office of Management and Budget in July, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has single-handedly blocked him from taking the job, using a Senate procedure known as a "hold."

By most accounts, Lew is qualified — he served in the same post from 1998 to 2001 under President Clinton.

But Landrieu has argued that he shows a "lack of sufficient concern" for economic problems in the Gulf Coast, which she represents. And, because of the way the Senate is run, it wouldn't matter even if she did think he was qualified.

Under Senate rules, any senator can block any of the president's nominations — or delay a piece of legislation from coming to the Senate floor for debate — for any reason at all.

But some observers and even a few senators think the practice is being abused and are campaigning to change it.

The hold started in the 1960s as '70s as an informal Senate practice which was designed to give each senator the courtesy to object to or delay discussion of a bill from reaching the floor, according to experts on Congressional history.

The idea was to allow a senator who needs a little time to examine a bill or go over a nominee's record the chance to do so.

But in practice, many senators began using holds as a way to gain leverage over the White House, agreeing to drop them in exchange for another legislative favor. FULL STORY

So how about a good Senator putting a hold on S.3817?