A rare bipartisan move is afoot to crimp one of the clubby abuses of the United States Senate  the “secret hold” that lone lawmakers employ anonymously to block worthy bills and nominees. Secret holds have been used by both parties to halt progress and extort concessions, even after a measure has been enthusiastically approved for advancement by committee majorities.

A proposal to shine a public light on the obstructers deserves to be enacted, holds-free, as soon as the Senate returns from recess. It would require any senator who puts a hold on a measure to be identified within 24 hours. No more hiding from genuine debate or a public accounting for his or her objections.

Dozens of noncontroversial presidential appointees have been held up for extended periods this year for secretive motives that could range from pork to petulance. No one really knows except those senators there in the shadows.

Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat of Missouri, has vowed to end the practice. The gambit has become embarrassing enough that 68 senators have publicly pledged their support for a pending measure. Her co-sponsors, Senators Charles Grassley, a Republican of Iowa, and Ron Wyden, a Democrat of Oregon, have long complained about stealth opponents’ plain lack of courage in what’s supposed to be an open debating chamber.