Chapter 437: Chapter 205: Internal Vote Tally
The hearings continued, one after another.
But Leo Wallace appeared at the witness stand less and less frequently.
The toughest battle had been fought and won in the first hearing. All that remained were bureaucratic procedures concerning the distribution of benefits and technical details.
That was Sanders and Murphy’s battlefield. Leo didn’t yet have the standing to participate in the Senators’ deal-making.
The bill had taken on a life of its own.
It no longer needed Leo’s push. The momentum of the interests involved would carry it forward.
So, Leo chose to stay out of the spotlight.
He stayed in his hotel room, watching the live broadcasts as the vast legislative machine rumbled on, following the course he had charted.
On Thursday night, the hearing phase finally concluded.
The bill entered the final review and amendment phase.
It was a long and tedious process.
Senate staffers sat around a long table, revising the hundreds of pages of the bill’s text word by word, line by line.
"Change ’funding’ to ’strategic investment.’"
"Change ’workers’ to ’skilled personnel.’"
"Add a clause here: procurement must prioritize products made in the United States."
After a week of revisions, the final version of the "National Strategic Supply Chain Resilience and Regional Industrial Upgrade Act" was printed.
It was a third thicker than the original version, padded with numerous boilerplate preambles and disclaimer clauses, but its core funding allocation logic remained perfectly intact.
The thick bill was delivered to the desk of Senate Majority Leader Creston.
The voting process was initiated.
The vote was scheduled for the following Tuesday.
...
「Monday morning. A restaurant near Capitol Hill.」
Daniel Sanders sat in a corner booth, a simple Caesar salad before him.
He seemed to be in a good mood, even offering a rare, relaxed smile.
Leo sat across from him.
"The situation is clear."
Sanders wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"We have fifty-one votes."
"As long as our own people hold the line, we’ve won."
Sanders’s tone was filled with confidence.
In his view, the hardest part was already over.
The bill’s text was ironclad, the media campaign was complete, and a consensus had largely been reached within the party.
This was the eve of victory.
Leo looked at Sanders’s optimistic face.
He didn’t smile. He felt a faint sense of unease.
"Senator, are you certain all the votes are secure?"
Leo asked.
"Of course," Sanders nodded. "Except for one or two who always like to jack up their price at the last minute, everyone else is solid."
"Who are the one or two?"
Leo pressed.
Sanders hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively.
"You mean Mannheim and Christo? Don’t worry about them. Mannheim may be an advocate for the fossil fuel industry, but your bill gives so much to West Virginia that he has no reason to oppose it."
"As for Christo, she’s trying to secure funding for a water project and needs my support."
"They’re politicians, not lunatics. When it comes to their interests, they’ll make the rational choice."
Sanders sounded completely confident.
"Oh, right."
Sanders glanced at his watch.
"There’s an internal party caucus luncheon today, specifically to mobilize everyone and whip the votes for tomorrow."
"Normally, it’s a closed-door meeting for Senators only."
"But as the mayor of the city that is the bill’s core beneficiary, and as the creator of the Pittsburgh model, I requested special permission from the Majority Leader."
Sanders looked at Leo.
"You can attend."
"This is an opportunity, Leo. Go meet the people who hold your fate in their hands. Shake their hands, and let them see the kind of young man standing behind this bill."
"It’ll be good for your future political career."
Leo nodded.
"Alright. I’ll go."
...
「Second floor of the Congress Building. The Mike Mansfield Room.」
It was a room steeped in history.
The walls were lined with oil paintings of past Democratic Party leaders, from Lyndon Johnson to Harry Reid. The gazes of these titans of a bygone era, now frozen in oil paint, watched over their successors at the long table.
The long, oval conference table was filled with Democratic senators.
Some were focused on cutting the chicken on their plates, others leaned over to whisper to their neighbors, and still others were flipping through briefings passed to them by aides.
This was the inner circle of power.
No cameras, no reporters, no voters’ watchful eyes.
Here, the politicians shed the masks they wore in public, revealing a more authentic, more relaxed side of themselves.
Leo was seated at the far end of the long table, a spot reserved for staff and special guests.
He sat quietly, observing everyone in the room.
Sanders was seated in the middle of the long table.
He still maintained his combative posture, his back ramrod straight even as he ate.
"Everyone."
Majority Leader Creston tapped his glass, producing a clear, ringing sound.
The chatter in the room gradually subsided.
"Before we get to lunch, we need to confirm the agenda for tomorrow."
Creston said, "The National Strategic Supply Chain Resilience Act will be brought for a full floor vote at ten a.m. tomorrow."
"This is a major bill. It’s a key component of the President’s economic agenda, as well as an important opportunity to show our constituents we have the ability to solve inflation and supply chain issues."
"Per the rules, we will be using the budget reconciliation process."
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