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BYRD ADMITS HE PLACED A HOLD, NOW LIFTS IT

By Rebecca Carr | Thursday, August 31, 2006, 03:39 PM

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd admits that he placed a “secret hold” on legislation that would make uncovering the Byzantine world of federal contracting as easy as typing a Google search.

Tom Gavin, spokesperson for Byrd, confirmed to Cox Newspapers that the senator placed the hold on legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., before voting on the measure.

Byrd joins Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, for holding up the bill right before Congress left town on August 4.

Byrd merely wanted more time to evaluate the legislation that would create a new database of some $2.5 trillion in federal spending on contracts, loans, financial assistance and insurance.

“Senator Byrd wanted time to read the legislation, understand its implications, and see whether the proposal could be improved,” Gavin said.

Byrd has released his hold, now that there “has been time to better understand the legislation,” Gavin said.

“Senator Byrd believes that the bill should be debated and opened for amendment, and not pushed through without discussion,” Gavin said.

“There was an effort to pass a bill on an important subject without debate just before the Senate recess,” Gavin said. Senators have an obligation to their constituents to know what they are voting on before signing off on any proposal, he said.

“On August 2, the last day before a month-long Senate recess, a Senate committee gave its approval to a brand new piece of legislation, cosponsored by Senator Obama and Senator Coburn,” Gavin said. “That same day, there was an effort to rush the legislation through the Senate without any Senator having the chance to ask questions,” he said.

Actually, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs unanimously approved the measure on July 27, the record shows. And an oversight committee held a hearing on the measure on July 18.

Gavin explained in a follow up interview that the bill didn’t reach the rest of the senators until August 2.

The bipartisan “secret hold” surprised everyone on Capitol Hill because the measure has the support from heavy hitters of both political parties, including Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

But Byrd is unapologetic about using his hold power.

“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.”

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