Ensign explains his vote on “secret holds”

When the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to curtail the use of secret “holds” that are used to block bills and nominations, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., was one of only four senators on the short end of a 92-4 vote.

Senators long have complained of colleagues who take advantage of anonymity to block legislation they don’t like or want to hold up for strategic reasons , although many senators are believed to have done so at various times. Under the new rules, senators still can block bills, but his or her name will be published in the Congressional Record two days later.

Ensign today offered a fuller explanation of his position beyond an unclear statement he released following the vote. He said he opposed the rules change after Senate leaders rejected a provision that would have given senators more time to review bills before deciding whether to allow them to proceed.

Ensign said senators are given 48 hours after a bill is brought to the Senate floor to impose a hold . The Nevada Republican said he proposed adding 72 hours to the waiting period.

“All I want to do is make sure we have time to read these bills,” Ensign said. “I can’t tell you how m any times on a Thursday night or at the end of a session, they bring all these bills to the floor and they try to get them passed, sometimes significant bills, and we don’t know about them. I have been burned too many times on that.

“We got tired of it so we hold everything,” Ensign said, naming Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. among senators he said do the same thing.

“I want that bill to sit out there so people have a chance to read it,” Ensign said.

DeMint was one of the other senators who voted against the rules change, along with Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky.

Ensign maintained he had “no problem” with disclosure. “I don’t care who knows my holds on a real hold,” he said.

It was not immediately clear why the 72-hour proposal was rejected by Senate leaders, although it could add days to the Senate’s consideration of most bills. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said during the week one of the goals of rules changes that were adopted was to minimize obvious delaying tactics on bills and nominations.