News We've written a bit about efforts by Oregon's two Democratic senators to make major procedural reforms in the U.S. Senate.Today, both Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley learned the fate of their efforts. Wyden prevailed in his effort to ban secret holds, the practice that allowed any senator to hold up virtually any bill, resolution or nomination without any disclosure of who that senator is. Merkley, ...   More

News U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has put forth a resolution in the newly convened Congress seeking to help reform one of the most stagnant and counterproductive institutions in U.S. politics—Wyden's very own U.S. Senate. Wyden is targeting secret holds—a rule whereby a single senator, acting in secret, can hold up virtually any bill, resolution or nomination. Critics maintain that secret ...   More