[Congressional Record: September 15, 2010 (Senate)]
[Page S7137-S7138]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 622--TO STOP SECRET SPENDING
Mr. COBURN (for himself and Mrs. McCaskill) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules and
Administration:
S. Res. 622
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``Stop Secret Spending
Resolution''.
SEC. 2. STOPPING SECRET SPENDING.
(a) Notice Requirement.--In the Senate, legislation that
has been subject to a hotline notification may not pass by
unanimous consent unless the hotline notification has been
posted on the public website of the Senate for at least 3
calendar days as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Posting on Senate Webpage.--At the same time as a
hotline notification occurs with respect to any legislation,
the Majority Leader shall post in a prominent place on the
public webpage of the Senate a notice that the legislation
has been hotlined and the legislation's number, title, link
to full text, and sponsor and the estimated cost to implement
and the number of new programs created by the legislation.
(c) Legislative Calendar.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Senate shall
establish for both the Senate Calendar of Business and the
Senate Executive Calendar a separate section entitled
``Notice of Intent To Pass by Unanimous Consent''.
(2) Content.--The section required by paragraph (1) shall--
(A) include any legislation posted as required by
subsection (b) and the date the hotline notification
occurred; and
(B) be updated as appropriate.
(3) Removal.--Items included on the calendar under this
subsection shall be removed from the calendar once passed by
the Senate.
(d) Exceptions.--This section shall not apply--
(1) if a quorum of the Senate is present at the time the
unanimous consent is propounded to pass the bill;
(2) to any legislation relating to an imminent or ongoing
emergency, as jointly agreed to by the Majority and Minority
Leaders; and
(3) to legislation dealing solely with post office namings.
(e) Suspension.--The Presiding Officer shall not entertain
any request to suspend this section by unanimous consent.
(f) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``hotline notification'' means when the
Majority Leader in consultation with the Minority Leader,
provides notice of intent to pass legislation by unanimous
consent by contacting each Senate office with a message on a
special alert line (commonly referred to as the hotline) that
provides information on what bill or bills the Majority
Leader is seeking to pass through unanimous consent; and
(2) the term ``legislation'' means a bill or joint
resolution.
Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, there has been much debate over the past
year regarding ``secret holds'' stalling the consideration of
presidential appointments or slowing expedited passage of legislation
by the Senate. Lost in this discussion has been an issue that should be
a far greater concern for taxpayers--``secret spending.''
This body routinely attempts to pass hundreds of bills costing tens
of billions of dollars or more in secret without debate, votes, or
amendments. It does so using an unofficial process not found in Senate
rule books known as the ``hotline.''
The U.S. Senate is often referred to as ``the world's greatest
deliberative body.'' This is because Senate rules grant each of the
Senate's 100 members rights that cannot be overridden by a simple
majority, including the right to require debate before a bill is
considered or passed.
Yet, the Senate practice known as the ``hotline'' often prevents and
precludes debate. In fact, Senators often do not even read the bills
being passed using the hotline.
The term ``hotline'' or practice of ``hotlining'' bills does not
appear in the Senate's official rules, but this procedure is utilized
nearly every day the Senate is in session. A hotline is an informal
term for an alert sent to members of the Senate giving notice of a
proposed agreement to allow a bill or resolution to be approved by the
Senate without debate or amendment. A measure that is ``hotlined'' is
recorded in the Congressional Record as a being agreed to by unanimous
consent, UC.
Hotlines occur at the discretion of the Majority Leader in
consultation with the Minority Leader. The leader's office contacts
each Senate office with a message on a special alert line called the
``hotline,'' which provides information on what bill or bills the
leader is seeking to pass through unanimous consent. Hotline notices
are only given to Senate offices.
If there is an objection to the bill being ``hotlined,'' a senator is
asked to call the leader's office and give notice of intent to object
to the bill being passed by unanimous consent whenever such a request
may occur. The process of notifying the leader's office of an objection
to ``hotline'' is informally referred to as a ``hold.'' In practice,
instead of requiring explicit unanimous consent to pass a bill, the
``hotline'' process only requires a lack of dissent.
In many instances, bills are hotlined for which no text, description,
or budget estimates have been made publicly available. In some Senate
offices, the ``hotline,'' or request for unanimous consent to pass a
measure, may never even reach senators, and the decision to allow a
bill to be approved without debate is determined by staff, who do not
even read the bill.
When a bill is ``hotlined,'' the public is not informed and neither
is the media. Only the offices of senators are alerted. It is therefore
a form of ``secret spending.'' Much like a ``hold'' can be kept from
the public, so can the ``hotlining'' of bills, which can cost billions
of dollars.
The vast majority of legislation approved by the Senate is done so
via the ``hotline'' under the guise of unanimous consent. According to
the Congressional Research Service, CRS, ``in
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the last ten Congresses, 110th-101st, an average of 93 percent of
approved measures did not receive roll call votes'' and ``in the 111th
Congress through February 1, 2010, 94 percent of approved measures were
approved without a roll call vote.''
Every time the Senate passes legislation without full and open
debate, the American people are done a disservice. The Senate should
not pass a new bill if its text, purpose, and budget estimate are not
available to the general public.
Taxpayers and the media should have the right to read and analyze
legislation prior to its passage. Senators, likewise, have a
responsibility to know the contents of legislation prior to granting
consent for its passage. Additionally, hotlining bills take away the
accountability for legislation approved by the Senate. Since there is
no recorded vote for most hotlined bills, senators have no culpability
for most of the legislation approved by the Senate.
The lack of of an objection from unelected staff should not be
sufficient to pass legislation that could spend millions or even
billions of dollars and significantly alter U.S. laws.
In many cases, if a senator objects to a hotline request--even if the
objection is merely to be granted sufficient time to study and review
the text, cost, and impact of the legislation--special interest groups
will immediately label the senator who is trying to be diligent as an
undemocratic obstructionist.
But the truth is neither democracy nor taxpayers are served well by
this process. ``Hotlining'' bills enable the hasty passage of
legislation without the public's knowledge or feedback. This process
benefits politicians and special interests rather than taxpayers.
Senators have an obligation to their constituents to do their jobs,
which includes reading the bills and understanding the impact of
legislation passed by Congress.
Today I am introducing the ``Stop Secret Spending Resolution'' along
with Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri. This bi-partisan legislation
would provide transparency and accountability by prohibiting a bill or
joint resolution from passing without a vote until the hotline
notifications are available on a public website for at least 72 hours.
The public notice much include: a cost analysis completed by the non-
partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO); the number of new programs
created by the legislation; and the actual legislative text.
The new 72 hour rule would not apply to noncontroversial item such as
post office namings and sense of the Senate resolutions; nominations;
any legislation relating to an imminent or ongoing emergency; or a
unanimous consent request made when a quorum of the Senate is present.
Voters are demanding Congress bring greater accountability to the
legislative process. Ending secret spending represents a meaningful
first step to guaranteeing increased accountability and transparency by
providing sufficient time for the public to review legislation before
it is passed by Congress.
I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of
this legislation.
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