An unknown senator placed a secret hold last week on a bill designed to strengthen the public’s right to access government information.

The delayed bill is the Open Government Act, and it was originally to be voted upon in the Senate on May 24.

The purpose of the bill is to strengthen the federal Freedom of Information Act, which was passed during the Johnson administration and has provided people with the legal tools to watch the actions of their public leaders closely, including access to government records.

The Society of Professional Journalists has launched a calling campaign, asking people to call their senators to ask whether they placed the hold on the bill.

Iowa senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin could not be reached for comment, and according to SPJ’s Web site, neither senator has been asked yet about whether he has delayed the bill.

“We really wanted to have [the Open Government Act] voted on by Memorial Day,” said Joel Campbell, chairman of the Freedom of Information committee for the Society of Professional Journalists.

The bill has bipartisan support, Campbell said. Its sponsors are Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Campbell said “it seems kind of ironic” that a bill supporting increased transparency and openness would be challenged in secret.

Even if the bill passes later, he said, it would be ideal if it didn’t have to go through all the extra processes required after a bill has been put on hold.

Mack Shelley, university professor of statistics and educational leadership and policy studies, said it is a common occurrence for a bill to be placed on hold in the Senate, since the Senate operates on unanimous consent, unlike the House of Representatives.

Shelley said delaying a bill is “often driven by partisan motives.”

“It doesn’t mean that you can’t proceed later on,” Shelley said. “But you have to wait with committee meetings and subcommittee meetings. Basically, it is a stalling tactic.”

The bill is often passed at a later time anyway, Shelley said, but not when its supporters originally wanted it to be.

Placing a hold on a bill secretly, Shelley said, is also not unusual.

As to why someone would go in secret, Shelley said that the senator could be worried about the effect an open objection would have on his or her public image, or the image of his or her political party.

In this particular case, Shelley said it isn’t difficult to imagine, since wishing to conceal information from the public is not likely to produce a favorable reaction.

One aspect of maintaining a position as a high-level bureaucrat, Shelley said, is to have knowledge and not to share it with others.

“That sort of mindset goes along with the idea that knowledge is power,” Shelley said.