Sometimes in the Senate, the simplest things are the hardest. Take for example the current plight of a bill which simply requires Senators to file their campaign finance forms electronically instead of snail-mail style:
Another Snag for Electronic-Filing Bill – washingtonpost.com
When Feingold’s legislation first arrived on the floor for a vote in April, an unknown Republican senator turned to an antiquated tradition and put a hold on the bill. When new ethics rules passed this summer that prohibited such “anonymous holds,” Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) stepped in the way of the bill. Ensign said he does not object to the legislation itself. His spokesman said he simply wants it amended to include an unrelated provision that would require groups that file ethics complaints against senators to disclose the identities of those who support them financially.
Because of this one Senator and this one amendment, the whole thing is in limbo. And no one wants to budge, because the whole point of the amendment is – unambiguously – to kill the legislation.
There will be those who will defend the amendment on its merits. Forget them. If there was a genuine desire to put this language into the bill, it could be done. Or separate legislation could be passed. The only reason this amendment exists is because they know it’s a deal-killer and that Ensign is in position to force the amendment or stall the bill.
