Chapter 420: Chapter 194: The Hearing
「Washington D.C. The Senate Office Building.」
Inside the hearing hall of the Appropriations Committee, the room was packed. All several hundred seats were taken, and reporters, representatives of lobbying groups, and congressional staff filled every corner.
All eyes were fixed on the man seated at the center of the witness table.
John Murphy sat there, the "National Strategic Supply Chain Resilience and Regional Industrial Upgrade Act" provided by Leo placed before him.
"Senators."
Murphy’s voice carried through the microphone, filling the hall. It was steady and powerful.
He was no longer the timid, back-bencher Representative. He was a newly-minted Senator, carrying the will of the people of Pennsylvania.
"I know what you’re all looking at. You’re looking at the budget number—two billion dollars. You think that’s expensive."
Murphy raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the powerful men on the dais who held the nation’s purse strings.
"But the way I see it, it’s the cheapest insurance premium we could possibly pay."
"Do you think this bill is about building roads and factories?"
Murphy shook his head. "It’s not."
"What we’re discussing is whether the United States can still produce enough steel when the next global crisis hits. Whether we can ensure our vital supply lines won’t be cut off."
"It’s about whether we can keep our workers—this nation’s most valuable strategic asset—on the assembly line, instead of having them end up on the streets collecting unemployment."
"Pittsburgh is offering this country a backup. A strategic failsafe, located deep inland, completely secure, with a fully integrated industrial chain."
Murphy turned to page eighteen of the bill, to the data model created by Marcus.
"According to the model’s projections, a one-week disruption to the East Coast supply chain would cost the US one hundred billion dollars in GDP. Yet, for an investment of just two billion now, we can build a permanent defense mechanism."
"I trust everyone here can do the math."
The moment he finished, a senior Republican Senator from Texas, seated to the right of the dais, switched on his microphone.
He was a well-known hawk, resistant to any bill that increased non-defense spending.
"A fine speech, Representative Murphy."
The Senator from Texas sneered, waving his copy of the bill.
"But I’ve read your bill. All this talk of ’community energy nodes’ and ’skilled talent legacy programs.’ This doesn’t sound like national security. It sounds more like the kind of socialist handout that Sanders loves so much."
"You’re dressing up welfare as defense, relief as strategy. You think painting a pig in camouflage turns it into a tank?"
"This is a fraud on the American taxpayer! I see no contribution to national security here, just a slush fund to buy off the workers in your district!"
A chorus of agreement rose from the Republican side of the aisle.
"And that’s not all."
On the other side of the aisle, a Democratic Senator from California frowned as well.
"Murphy, we all support infrastructure, but why Pittsburgh? Why are all the earmarks directed at Pennsylvania?"
"Detroit needs this money. Chicago needs this money. These kinds of exclusive provisions are dividing our coalition of industrial states."
He was being attacked from both sides.
The Republicans were attacking the nature of the bill, while his own Democratic party attacked the allocation of funds.
This was an expected development.
Murphy remained calm.
He remembered the strategy they had discussed during their prep sessions: ’Don’t get defensive. Emphasize the crisis.’
"Senator," Murphy said, turning to the Senator from Texas. "If you don’t believe that our workers’ livelihoods are a matter of national security, then I have nothing more to say. But I suggest you take a look at the Pentagon’s latest report and see how many skilled welders we have left in our shipyards."
"When war comes, Wall Street stocks won’t save the United States. But steel from Pittsburgh will."
He then turned to his colleague from California.
"As for why Pittsburgh? Because we are ready."
"Our note system has been operational for months. Our supply chain is a closed loop. We are the only city that can immediately convert this money into productive capacity."
"If you feel that’s unfair, you’re welcome to present a competing system of your own. But my guess is, you don’t have one."
The moment Murphy finished, the Senator from California immediately switched on his microphone.
"Representative Murphy, this so-called ’note system’ of yours, as far as I know, has no official endorsement from the Federal Reserve."
"You’re using taxpayer money to run an unregulated, shadow financial experiment! You are offloading immense risk onto our entire nation’s financial security!"
"Risk?" Murphy sneered. "Why weren’t you talking about risk when our factories were closing and our workers were losing their jobs? When the bankers on Wall Street were hollowing out the US economy with complex financial derivatives, where was your concern about risk then?"
"At least our system is building roads and paying workers. What have your friends on Wall Street done, other than create bubbles and catastrophes?"
"You’re just changing the subject!"
"I am stating the facts!"
The hearing immediately descended into chaos.
The Republican members watched the Democratic infighting with glee, occasionally chiming in to fan the flames.
"See? This is the Democratic Party’s economic policy for you. They can’t even get their own story straight."
The chairman had no choice but to pick up his gavel and repeatedly bang it on the desk.
"Order! Order! Please maintain order!"
Amid the clamorous arguments, the hearing was hastily adjourned.
There was no vote, no conclusion.
This was merely the opening round of sparring.
Near the back door of the committee room, Daniel Sanders intercepted the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Luca Becker, as he was about to leave.
"We need to talk, Luca," Sanders said, getting straight to the point.
"Daniel, this is tough," Becker said, shaking his head. "The optics on that bill are terrible. The Republicans are adamant it’s a radical leftist policy and have sworn to block it at all costs. Even our own people have issues. Two billion all going to Pittsburgh, and everyone else gets nothing?"
"Didn’t we set some aside for Ohio and Michigan?" Sanders countered. "It’s stated clearly in the bill."
Becker scoffed.
"Daniel, we’ve both been in this town for decades. Let’s not play these childish word games. Everyone knows the main prize is going to Pittsburgh. You know better than I do just how blatant those tailor-made provisions are."
Sanders fell silent for a moment. He knew that in private, there was no point in keeping up the pretense.
"This isn’t about the money, Luca."
Sanders lowered his voice, pulling him into a corner of the corridor.
"This is about the election."
"Have you seen the latest polls from Pennsylvania? That swing state is turning blue."
"And why? Because of that plan in Pittsburgh. Because those blue-collar workers believe we’ll bring them jobs."
Sanders stared into Becker’s eyes.
"If this bill dies, the funding for Pittsburgh dries up, and Murphy’s promises become lies. Pennsylvania will immediately flip red. We could lose Pennsylvania, and with it, the entire election."
"Is that a responsibility you’re willing to bear?"
Becker fell silent.
Two billion dollars was a lot of money, but compared to an election, it was just a number.
"The pushback from the Republicans is too strong," Becker sighed. "I can only do my best to lobby our own party members to vote yes and try to present a united front."
"Compromise will be necessary. Let’s see what their price is."
Becker patted Sanders’s shoulder, his expression meaningful.
"But, Daniel, you need to be very clear about your own position right now."
"These internal party struggles can be brutal. There’s no telling how things will turn out in the end."
Sanders simply replied, "Just do your best."
...
「Republican National Committee Headquarters, near Capitol Hill.」
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sat at the head of the conference table, his expression grim.
Seated before him were several Republican Party strategy analysts and his senior aide.
"We cannot let that bill pass."
McConnell said gravely, "That Murphy, and the kid behind him, Wallace... they’re undermining our very foundation."
"They’re using federal money to buy off voters in Pennsylvania. If we let them take that two billion dollars and they actually succeed with their projects, we won’t have a future in Pennsylvania."
"Once those workers get a taste of the benefits, they’ll side with the Democrats for good."
"This isn’t just about one state," his aide added. "If the Pittsburgh model succeeds, the Democratic Party will roll it out in Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. They’ll use this narrative—a mix of national security and worker benefits—to completely remap the politics of the Rust Belt."
"That’s our base! That’s our cornerstone for taking back the White House!"
"They must be stopped."
McConnell made his decision.
"We will use every tool at our disposal to block it in the Senate. That bill will not pass."
"But just blocking the money in Washington isn’t enough."
A vicious glint appeared in McConnell’s eyes.
"As long as Leo Wallace is still making waves in Pittsburgh, as long as his plan is still in motion, their base of public support will remain."
"We have to solve this problem at the source."
"We need to destroy that kid’s reputation."
"We have to prove that his so-called ’progressive showcase’ is nothing but a complete fraud—a cancer that will only lead to disaster."
McConnell looked toward a middle-aged man sitting at the far end of the table.
The man wore an expensive gray suit and gold-rimmed glasses. He was the Republican Party’s senior strategic advisor, Richard Taylor.
"Richard," McConnell said, "I want you to research this Wallace. His speeches, his policies, and this whole operation he’s running in Pittsburgh."
"I want to destroy him in the court of public opinion. I want the voters of Pennsylvania to believe that following him won’t lead to a revival, but to ruin."
"I want them not only to lose the money, but to be disgraced in the process."
Richard Taylor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled.
"Not a problem, Senator."
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