Congress passes many bills without reading them. Some are prepared so close to the vote that not even their sponsors really know what’s in them.

That’s nothing. Now Congress can push through legislation no one reads even faster, lickety-split.

It’s called “hotlining,” and it was designed to get nitpicky business-y kinds of things done quickly. But recently the business has turned serious.

Here’s what happens:

• The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders agree to pass a bill without a vote.
• They call all members of Congress on special hotlines installed in each office, giving a specified amount of time to object — sometimes as little as 15 minutes.
• If no objection is registered, the bill passes.

In a four-day period this summer, of the 153 hotline calls made, 75 were legislative measures, 61 were nominations, and 17 were post-office-naming bills. A few of these bills authorized hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending.

In a floor speech last year, Sen. Jeff Sessions from Alabama noted that these bills can be as long as 500 pages. Many staffs simply ignore the calls, he said, and “the Senator is deemed to have consented to the passage of some bill” without ever been told diddly or squat.

We’re not supposed to know how sausage is made. Welcome to hotlining. Don’t say “hot dog.” Say “Yikes.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

• Episode Number: 1903
• Publication Date: 9/26/2007