At least two unnamed Republicans have placed holds on a bill to crack down on human growth hormone (HGH), despite strong bipartisan support and the backing of the sports industries most directly affected.

The secret holds, which are now only allowed for six days under new ethics rules, delay legislation that was moving just two weeks after star pitcher Roger Clemens testified before a House committee about his alleged use of the controversial substance.

“I would be really surprised if anyone is trying to oppose that bill on its substance,” said Lucy Calautti of Baker Hostetler, head lobbyist for Major League Baseball. “We support it. I don’t think there’s a constituency for promoting the use of HGH without being strongly safeguarded.”

Holds are an informal tactic through which a senator may block a bill from being “hot-lined,” or passed by unanimous consent. They are also very prevalent: Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) alone has 90 active holds on various bills.

The secrecy surrounding them, however, was reduced last year with the passage of the Democratic-led ethics reform bill. Previously indefinite, secret holds now can only last six session days. After that, the hold remains but the senator’s name and the reason for the hold become public.

Schumer’s bill actually dates to last March, but gained steam in December after former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell’s report on steroid use in baseball — and again this month, with Clemens’s appearance before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Clemens has consistently denied using HGH.

Currently pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Schumer’s bill would add HGH to the U.S. Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule III substance, making it illegal to possess without a prescription. That would equate the drug with anabolic steroids, possession of which is punishable by up to three years in prison. Aides to Schumer say Congress has already stiffened laws regulating steroids twice before, and this should be a routine matter.