heard from either committee. It looked as though the bill was going to fade away.
Elliott was seething. He was pacing the floor of his home office in his Colorado ranch when his cell phone rang. It was President White.
“Hello Paul,” Elliott said.
“Hi Elliott. I’ve got that sinking feeling.”
“I do too.”
“How could they shelve a bill that is probably the finest piece of legislation on behalf of the American people since the Civil Rights Bill?” the President asked.
“If I recall correctly, the Civil Rights Bill didn’t get passed without a fight,” Elliott commented.
“Fight? I’d love a fight. I’ve had Jeff Archer, my head of the Government Accounting Office, look at the bill and crunch the numbers. He enthusiastically endorsed it. I’ve also spoken to George Madsen, the Director of the National Economic Council, and he thinks it’s a stroke of genius. It provides a road map for solving all our ills in a few short years. I’ve asked both men to talk to the committee heads, the Republican Sam Whitback from Kansas for the Appropriations Committee and the Republican from Texas Ray Haley Hutchinson for the Finance Committee, but they couldn’t get anywhere with them. I took it upon myself to speak with Hutchinson and he said he couldn’t back it. He said it was too far reaching. The economy was too fragile for something that was such a game changer on so many levels.”
“Oh hog wash,” Elliott growled. “Isn’t Hutchinson the one who was backing an earmark for almost a million bucks for ‘Beef Improvement Research’ at some plant in Texas owned by his cousin?”
“The same.”
“How did we reach such a sick and twisted place in our history, Paul? The framers of the Constitution would jump off the roof of the Capitol if they could hear what goes on behind those doors.”
“It’s the damn lobbyists, but what can we do?”
“We have seven more days to wait and see if the committees do anything, but I think we both know what they are going to do. They aren’t going to report it to the floor where the House members can vote on it, so it is dead. We could press for a Motion to Suspend the Rules and force the bill to the floor, but the Speaker of the House, Nick Cobbings, is a Republican from Oklahoma and close friends with Sam Whitback. The Speaker has the discretion for recognition of a Motion to Suspend and will request a ruling from the Committee that has jurisdiction over the bill. Sam Whitback will simply suggest the Motion to Suspend be denied.”
“And even if H.R. 2239 made it to the floor, the Motion to Suspend allows for the addition of amendments. They’ll amend the thing until it no longer looks anything like what was originally submitted,” The President added.
The two men fell silent mulling over their limited options.
“This is November eighteenth?” Paul asked.
“Yes.”
“The House will adjourn for the balance of the year in eleven days. We don’t have any time.”
“We could try for a Motion to Discharge which would pull the bill out of committee and bypass the Speaker. It sends the bill right to the floor for a vote by the entire House, and it cannot be amended, but let me think. When the Motion to Discharge is approved by a majority of the House it still has to sit in layover for another week, so the House members get a chance to review it. There are only eleven days until they adjourn for the year. Even if we tried for a Discharge Petition the layover period is another week, so we’re three days short, we don’t have time to pull off a discharge before they adjourn for the year. Damn.”
“If I recall my congressional history correctly there have only been two successful Motions to Discharge in the last twenty five years,” Paul White observed.
“Good, then we’re due,” Elliott replied. “If we could just find those extra three days.”
“And it sometimes takes months to get the 218 majority votes needed in the House for an approval of
Elliott was seething. He was pacing the floor of his home office in his Colorado ranch when his cell phone rang. It was President White.
“Hello Paul,” Elliott said.
“Hi Elliott. I’ve got that sinking feeling.”
“I do too.”
“How could they shelve a bill that is probably the finest piece of legislation on behalf of the American people since the Civil Rights Bill?” the President asked.
“If I recall correctly, the Civil Rights Bill didn’t get passed without a fight,” Elliott commented.
“Fight? I’d love a fight. I’ve had Jeff Archer, my head of the Government Accounting Office, look at the bill and crunch the numbers. He enthusiastically endorsed it. I’ve also spoken to George Madsen, the Director of the National Economic Council, and he thinks it’s a stroke of genius. It provides a road map for solving all our ills in a few short years. I’ve asked both men to talk to the committee heads, the Republican Sam Whitback from Kansas for the Appropriations Committee and the Republican from Texas Ray Haley Hutchinson for the Finance Committee, but they couldn’t get anywhere with them. I took it upon myself to speak with Hutchinson and he said he couldn’t back it. He said it was too far reaching. The economy was too fragile for something that was such a game changer on so many levels.”
“Oh hog wash,” Elliott growled. “Isn’t Hutchinson the one who was backing an earmark for almost a million bucks for ‘Beef Improvement Research’ at some plant in Texas owned by his cousin?”
“The same.”
“How did we reach such a sick and twisted place in our history, Paul? The framers of the Constitution would jump off the roof of the Capitol if they could hear what goes on behind those doors.”
“It’s the damn lobbyists, but what can we do?”
“We have seven more days to wait and see if the committees do anything, but I think we both know what they are going to do. They aren’t going to report it to the floor where the House members can vote on it, so it is dead. We could press for a Motion to Suspend the Rules and force the bill to the floor, but the Speaker of the House, Nick Cobbings, is a Republican from Oklahoma and close friends with Sam Whitback. The Speaker has the discretion for recognition of a Motion to Suspend and will request a ruling from the Committee that has jurisdiction over the bill. Sam Whitback will simply suggest the Motion to Suspend be denied.”
“And even if H.R. 2239 made it to the floor, the Motion to Suspend allows for the addition of amendments. They’ll amend the thing until it no longer looks anything like what was originally submitted,” The President added.
The two men fell silent mulling over their limited options.
“This is November eighteenth?” Paul asked.
“Yes.”
“The House will adjourn for the balance of the year in eleven days. We don’t have any time.”
“We could try for a Motion to Discharge which would pull the bill out of committee and bypass the Speaker. It sends the bill right to the floor for a vote by the entire House, and it cannot be amended, but let me think. When the Motion to Discharge is approved by a majority of the House it still has to sit in layover for another week, so the House members get a chance to review it. There are only eleven days until they adjourn for the year. Even if we tried for a Discharge Petition the layover period is another week, so we’re three days short, we don’t have time to pull off a discharge before they adjourn for the year. Damn.”
“If I recall my congressional history correctly there have only been two successful Motions to Discharge in the last twenty five years,” Paul White observed.
“Good, then we’re due,” Elliott replied. “If we could just find those extra three days.”
“And it sometimes takes months to get the 218 majority votes needed in the House for an approval of
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