The electronic disclosure bill sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) is
still being held up by some anonymous Republican Senator who placed a secret hold.
Everyone has long lost patience with this "Senator Anonymous" - and Roll Call tells us in an editorial today where we should direct our attention and frustration:
It should be brought to bear on the entire Senate, but especially its Republican leadership, which did nothing about the ridiculous, expensive and anachronistic practice of paper filing for the most recent four years that it was in the majority and now is failing to use its persuasive power on the Senator or Senators blocking the bill.
Republicans presume to be the party of efficient government and fiscal responsibility, yet the Senate filing system is a mockery of both principles. It requires transferring mostly electronic contribution and expenditure reports compiled by campaigns onto paper for delivery to the Secretary of the Senate, whose office then scans each page — more than 10,000 total pages last year — back into digital form to send to the Federal Election Commission, which then takes 11 hours to print them all out on paper again for shipment to a private contractor that re-keys them into a digital format at a cost of $250,000.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is the only one we can be sure knows who placed the secret hold (besides the guilty party). The hold is preventing the bill from passing with unanimous consent, a procedural tool that would allow the bill (which is co-sponsored by 21 Democrats, 15 Republicans, and two independents) to pass without debate.
McConnell told Roll Call that “a couple of people on my side want to offer an amendment” to the bill and said that Reid should bring it up under regular order. He would not identify the Senators or their amendments and said that Reid had not even discussed the bill with him.
Democrats are worried that if the bill is brought up for full debate, it will turn into a vehicle for a long and contentious squabble over campaign finance reform.
McConnell is confident the measure will be passed eventually - but it's been far too long already, and he isn't doing anything from his position in Republican leadership to speed the process along.
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