‘Hotlined’ Bills Spark Concern

Conservatives Worried by Boost

• By John Stanton
• Roll Call Staff
• Sept. 17, 2007, Midnight

Senate conservatives are upset that the leaders of both parties in the chamber have in recent years increasingly used a practice known as “hotlining” bills — previously used to quickly move noncontroversial bills or simple procedural motions — to pass complex and often costly legislation, in some cases with little or no public debate.