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Sen. Mikulski wants holds on nominations limited to 30 days
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03/31/10 02:59 PM ET
The indefinite holds senators can place on nominations should be limited to 30 days, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) argued Wednesday.
Mikulski said that the anonymous blocks that senators are able to put on presidential nominations for top positions should be reformed, to pair with other changes to filibuster rules, one of the other top parliamentary tools available to a minority party.
"Its historic roots were when people arrived in wagons and would take three days to come, so you that you'd have a hold on it until you could debate it," Mikulski said Wednesday during an appearance on the Kojo Nnamdi radio show. "So even no matter how coagulated the Beltway is, we don't have to have holds from another century."
Mikulski stopped short of calling for doing away with holds entirely, but called for reforms to the system.
"I believe that we could maintain the courtesy, but we need to, Number One, Say you're the person who put it on, so we know who it is, and that, Number Two, It not last longer than 30 days," she said.
Democrats have also called for reforms to filibuster rules, which Republicans have used to some effect to slow down or block top legislative priorities for Democrats this year. Under Senate rules, though, 67 votes are needed to make a change, meaning that 18 Republicans would have to sign onto a change in order for it to take effect.
Mikulski echoed what other Democrats have said now for months about Republicans, which is that they're using the parliamentary maneuvers as a deliberate means to obstructing legislation.
"It's all to slow down the process and throw sand in the gears of the Obama administration," she said.
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