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(Kid) "Whew! You sure gotta' climb a lotta' steps to get to this Capitol
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building here in Washinton! Well, I wonder who that sad little scrap
of paper is?"
G
I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill, and I'm sittin' here on Capitol Hill
C7
Well it's a long, long journey to the capitol city. It's a long, long wait
D
while I'm sittin' in committee - but I know I'll be a law someday, at least
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I hope and pray that I will, but today I am still just a bill.
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(Kid) "Gee, Bill, you certainly have a lot of patience and courage."
(Bill) "Well, I got this far. When I started I wasn't even a bill, I was
just an idea. Some folks back home decided they wanted a law passed,
C7
so they called their local congressman and he said, 'You're right,
there ought to be a law.' Then he sat down, wrote me out, and
introduced me to Congress, and I became a bill - and I'll remain a
D
bill until they decide to make me a law."
G
I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill, and I got as far as Capitol Hill.
C7
Well now, I'm stuck in committee, and I'll sit here and wait, while a
D
few key congressmen discuss and debate whether they should let me be a law.
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How I hope and pray that they will, but today I am still just a bill.
G
(Kid) "Listen to those congressmen arguing! Is all that discussion and debate
about you?"
(Bill) "Yeah, I one of the lucky ones. Most bills never get this far. I
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hope they decide to report favorably, otherwise I may die."
(Kid) "Die?"
G
(Bill) "Yeah, die in committee. Ooh, but it looks like I'm gonna' live.
D
Now I go to the House of Represenatives and they vote on me."
C7
(Kid) "If they vote 'Yes,' what happens?"
G
(Bill) "Then I go to the Senate and the whole thing starts all over again."
D
(Kid) "Oh, no."
(Bill) "Oh, yes!"
G
I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill, and if they vote for me on Capitol Hill,
C7
well, then I'm off to the White House, where I'll wait in a line with a lot
D
of other bills for the President to sign, and if he signs me then I'll be a law
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How I hope and pray that he will, but today I am still just a bill.
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(Kid) "You mean, even if the whole Congress says you should be a law,
G
the President can still say no?"
(Bill) "Yes. That's called a 'veto.' If the President vetoes me, I'll
have to go back to Congress and they vote on me again, and by that
time you're so old, you...
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(Kid) "By that time it's very unlikely that you'll become a law. It's not
easy to become a law, is it?"
(Bill) "No..."
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But how I hope and pray that I will, but today I am still just a bill.
(Congressman) "He signed you, Bill. Now you're a law."
(Bill) "Oh yes!"
