[国会记录：2010年9月15日（参议院）][第S7137-S7138页]提交决议-参议院第622号决议-停止秘密开支科伯恩先生（为他自己和麦卡斯基尔夫人）提交了以下决议；已提交规则和行政委员会：第622号决议，第1节。简称。本决议可称为“停止秘密支出决议”。秒。2.停止秘密开支。（a） 通知要求。--在参议院，接受热线通知的立法不得获得一致同意，除非热线通知已按照第（b）小节的规定在参议院公共网站上发布至少3个日历日。（b） 在参议院网页上发布。--在就任何立法发出热线通知的同时，多数党领袖应在参议院公共网页的显著位置发布通知，说明该立法已被热线链接，以及该立法的编号、标题、全文链接，以及发起人和实施的估计成本，以及立法创造的新项目数量。（c） 立法日历。-（1）概述。--参议院秘书应为参议院议事日历和参议院行政日历单独制定一节，标题为“一致同意通过意向通知”。（2） 内容。--第（1）款要求的章节应——（A）包括根据第（b）款要求发布的任何立法以及热线通知发生的日期；以及（B）根据需要进行更新。（3） 删除。--本小节项下日历上的项目应在参议院通过后从日历中删除。（d） 例外情况。--本节不适用——（1）如果在提出一致同意通过法案时，参议院的法定人数在场；（2） 多数党和少数党领导人共同商定的与即将发生或正在发生的紧急情况有关的任何立法；（3）只处理邮政局名称的立法。（e） 暂停。--主持会议的官员不得接受经一致同意暂停本节的任何请求。（f） 定义。--在本节中--（1）“热线通知”一词是指多数党领袖与少数党领袖协商，通过在特别警戒线上（通常称为热线）联系各参议院办公室，发出一致同意通过立法的意向通知提供关于多数党领袖寻求通过一致同意的法案的信息；（2）“立法”一词是指法案或联合决议。科伯恩先生。总统先生，在过去的一年里，有很多关于“秘密搁置”的辩论，这些辩论拖延了对总统任命的考虑，或者减缓了参议院加快通过立法的速度。在这场讨论中，一个应该引起纳税人更大关注的问题消失了——“秘密支出”。这个机构经常试图在没有辩论、投票或修正的情况下秘密通过数百项耗资数百亿美元或更多的法案。美国参议院通常被称为“世界上最伟大的审议机构”。这是因为参议院规则赋予参议院100名成员中的每一位都不能被简单多数推翻的权利，包括在审议或通过法案之前要求进行辩论的权利。然而，被称为“热线”的参议院惯例常常阻止和排除辩论。事实上，参议员们甚至经常不通过热线阅读正在通过的法案。“热线”一词或“热议”法案的做法并未出现在参议院的官方规则中，但参议院几乎每天开会时都使用这一程序。热线是一个非正式术语，用于向参议院成员发送警报，通知拟议的协议，允许参议院在不进行辩论或修正的情况下批准法案或决议。加州大学一致同意通过的“热门”措施被记录在国会记录中。热线电话由多数党领袖与少数党领袖协商后自行决定。领导人办公室通过一条名为“热线”的特别警戒线与每个参议院办公室联系，该热线提供关于领导人寻求通过一致同意的法案的信息。热线通知只发给参议院办公室。如果有人反对该法案被“热播”，参议员就被要求给领导人办公室打电话，并发出意向通知，表示反对该法案在任何情况下以一致同意的方式通过。将对“热线”的反对意见通知领导办公室的过程被非正式地称为“搁置”。实际上，“hotlin”不是要求明确一致同意才能通过法案e'' 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 [[Page S7138]] 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. ____________________