“Cracking down on HGH abuse is necessary, and our straightforward, bipartisan bill would do just that,” Schumer said. “I am hopeful that we can work to address any concerns about the bill so it can pass the Senate quickly and unanimously.”
Schumer’s office proposed to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a unanimous consent vote last week, but was forced to retreat because of the hold. Coburn himself had a hold on the bill, but his staff said he simply wanted to read the legislation and has since lifted his objection.
Former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said the hold on Schumer’s bill could be about personality, his chairmanship of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or a simple matter of wanting to review the bill.
Lott also said in general, such holds have become an obstacle bogging down the already arcane Senate.
“It happens on both sides and it’s gotten very difficult, but it’s one of the facts of the Senate,” Lott said. “A lot of times it’s just because a senator wants to read it. But it’s out of hand, and what’s happening now is they’re not moving many bills.”
Calautti, a top aide to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) for more than 20 years and baseball’s lobbyist for the past eight, speculated that the hold on the HGH bill may be more about an unrelated issue, such as a lawmaker with a particular legislative request.
“Often these things are about unhappiness, about other things,” she said.
Both Lott and lobbyist Martin Paone, a longtime Democratic aide who stepped down last month as secretary for the majority, said holds such as on the HGH bill could create a new problem unforeseen by the Democrats who pushed for the change in secrecy rules. Since a senator can stay anonymous if he or she lifts the hold before the six-day deadline expires, Lott and Paone said, more “rolling holds” may occur — a situation in which senator after senator places short-term secret holds on a bill, thereby blocking a bill almost indefinitely.
However, Paone disagreed that possibility represents a loophole in the new law, and said there is ultimately little the Senate can do to erase the culture of holds as a political tactic.
“There is a place for members to have confidentiality while studying legislation before interest groups attack them,” he said. “You’re not going to be able to plug every hole. If someone wants to mess with you, they’re going to mess with you.”
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