Who Placed a Secret Hold on Sunlight?
Yet again an anonymous Senator has placed a secret hold on legislation that would increase transparency. This time a secret hold has been placed on a bill, S. 223, that would mandate that Senators file their campaign finance reports electronically. This process would not only make these reports more readily available to the public but would also save money and resources.
Yesterday this bill was blocked by an anonymous Senator who placed a secret hold on the bill. Secret holds are so looked down on these days that earlier this year the Senate itself banned the practice, although the bill containing that provision has yet to become law. But until secret holds are banished forever, we need your help in exposing the culprit who is blocking consideration of the electronic filing requirement for Senate campaign finance reports.
We need your help to find out who placed this secret hold! Call your Senators and ask them if they are the one with the secret hold on S. 223. Then report back here in the comments with your findings or contact us using this contact form. Below is a list of Senators, organized by state, and their contact info. If a Senator issues a denial we will indicate that next to their name.
Senator | Contact | Secret Hold? |
Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) | (202) 224-5744 | NO |
Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) | (202) 224-4124 | NO |
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) | (202) 224-3004 | NO |
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) | (202) 224-6665 | NO |
John McCain (R-Arizona) | (202) 224-2235 | NO |
Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) | (202) 224-4521 | |
Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas) | (202) 224-4843 | NO |
Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) | (202) 224-2353 | |
Dianne Feinstein (D-California) | (202) 224-3841 | NO |
Barbara Boxer (D-California) | (202) 224-3553 | |
Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) | (202) 224-5941 | NO |
Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) | (202) 224-5852 | NO |
Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) | (202) 224-2823 | |
Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut) | (202) 224-4041 | |
Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) | (202) 224-5042 | |
Thomas Carper (D-Delaware) | (202) 224-2441 | NO |
Bill Nelson (D-Florida) | (202) 224-5274 | NO |
Mel Martinez (R-Florida) | (202) 224-3041 | |
Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) | (202) 224-3521 | NO |
Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) | (202) 224-3643 | NO |
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) | (202) 224-3934 | |
Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) | (202) 224-6361 | |
Larry Craig (R-Idaho) | (202) 224-2752 | NO |
Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) | (202) 224-6142 | |
Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) | (202) 224-2152 | NO |
Barack Obama (D-Illinois) | (202) 224-2854 | NO |
Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) | (202) 224-4814 | NO |
Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) | (202) 224-5623 | NO |
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) | (202) 224-3744 | NO |
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) | (202) 224-3254 | |
Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) | (202) 224-6521 | NO |
Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) | (202) 224-4774 | |
Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) | (202) 224-2541 | NO |
Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky) | (202) 224-4343 | NO |
Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) | (202) 224-5824 | NO |
David Vitter (R-Louisiana) | (202) 224-4623 | |
Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) | (202) 224-5344 | |
Susan Collins(R-Maine) | (202) 224-2523 | NO |
Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) | (202) 224-4654 | NO |
Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) | (202) 224-4524 | |
Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) | (202) 224-4543 | NO |
John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) | (202) 224-2742 | NO |
Carl Levin (D-Michigan) | (202) 224-6221 | |
Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) | (202) 224-4822 | |
Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota) | (202) 224-5641 | NO |
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) | (202) 224-3244 | NO |
Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) | (202) 224-5054 | |
Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) | (202) 224-6253 | |
Christopher S. Bond (R-Missouri) | (202) 224-5721 | NO |
Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) | (202) 224-6154 | NO |
Max Baucus (D-Montana) | (202) 224-2651 | |
Jon Tester (D-Montana) | (202) 224-2644 | NO |
Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) | (202) 224-4224 | |
Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) | (202) 224-6551 | NO |
Harry Reid (D-Nevada) | (202) 224-3542 | |
John Ensign (R-Nevada) | (202) 224-6244 | |
Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) | (202) 224-3324 | |
John E. Sununu (R-New Hampshire) | (202) 224-2841 | NO |
Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) | (202) 224-3224 | NO |
Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) | (202) 224-4744 | NO |
Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) | (202) 224-6621 | NO |
Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) | (202) 224-5521 | |
Charles Schumer (D-New York) | (202) 224-6542 | |
Hillary Clinton (D-New York) | (202) 224-4451 | |
Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina) | (202) 224-6342 | NO |
Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) | (202) 224-3154 | NO |
Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) | (202) 224-2043 | |
Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) | (202) 224-2551 | |
George Voinovich (R-Ohio) | (202) 224-3353 | NO |
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) | (202) 224-2315 | NO |
James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) | (202) 224-4721 | NO |
Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) | (202) 224-5754 | NO |
Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) | (202) 224-5244 | NO |
Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) | (202) 224-3753 | NO |
Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) | (202) 224-4254 | NO |
Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pennsylvania) | (202) 224-6324 | NO |
Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) | (202) 224-4642 | |
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) | (202) 224-2921 | |
Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) | (202) 224-5972 | NO |
Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) | (202) 224-6121 | NO |
Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) | (202) 224-5842 | NO |
John Thune (R-South Dakota) | (202) 224-2321 | |
Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) | (202) 224-4944 | NO |
Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) | (202) 224-3344 | NO |
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) | (202) 224-5922 | NO |
John Cornyn (R-Texas) | (202) 224-2934 | NO |
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) | (202) 224-5251 | NO |
Robert Bennett (R-Utah) | (202) 224-5444 | NO |
Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) | (202) 224-4242 | NO |
Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) | (202) 224-5141 | NO |
John Warner (R-Virginia) | (202) 224-2023 | |
Jim Webb (D-Virginia) | (202) 224-4024 | NO |
Patty Murray (D-Washington) | (202) 224-2621 | |
Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) | (202) 224-3441 | |
Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) | (202) 224-3954 | NO |
Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) | (202) 224-6472 | NO |
Herbert Kohl (D-Wisconsin) | (202) 224-5653 | NO |
Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) | (202) 224-5323 | NO |
Craig Thomas (R-Wyoming) | (202) 224-6441 | NO |
Michael Enzi (R-Wyoming) | (202) 224-3424 | NO |