Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Page #26

JEFFERSON:

Oh, just a day--

SAUNDERS:

A *day*!

JEFFERSON:

Tonight.

SAUNDERS:

Tonight.

(Controlling herself

in a quiet burn)

Look--uh--I don't want to seem to be

complaining, Senator--but in all

civilized countries, there's an

institution called *dinner*--!

JEFFERSON:

(laughing a little)

Oh--dinner. Yes. Well, I'm hungry,

too. I thought--maybe--we could have

something brought in--you know, like

big executives who eat off trays.

You see, we've got to light into

this and get it going--

SAUNDERS:

Uh-huh. Well, dinner comes in on

trays. We're executives. And we light

into this. It is dawn. Your Bill is

ready. You go over there and introduce

it--

JEFFERSON:

How?

SAUNDERS:

You get to your feet in the Senate

and present it. Then you take the

Bill and put it in a little box--

like a letter box--on the side of

the rostrum. Just hold it between

thumb and forefinger and drop it in.

Clerks read it and refer it to the

right committee--

JEFFERSON:

Committee, huh?

SAUNDERS:

Committee.

JEFFERSON:

Why?

SAUNDERS:

That's how Congress--or any large

body--is run. All work has to be

done by committee.

JEFFERSON:

Why?

SAUNDERS:

Look--committees--small groups of

Senators--have to sift a Bill down--

look into it--study it--and report

to the whole Senate. You can't take

a Bill no one knows anything about

and discuss it among ninety-six men.

Where would you get?

JEFFERSON:

Yes, I see that.

SAUNDERS:

Good. Where are we?

JEFFERSON:

Some committee's got it.

SAUNDERS:

Yes. They give it to a *sub*-

committee, where they really give it

a going over--hold hearings--call in

people and ask questions--then report

back to the bigger committee--where

it's considered some more, changed,

amended, or whatever. Days are going

by, Senator. Days--weeks. Finally,

they think it's quite a Bill. It

goes over to the House of

Representatives for debate and a

vote. *But* it's got to wait its

turn on the calendar--

JEFFERSON:

Calendar?

SAUNDERS:

That's the order of business. Your

Bill has to stand *way* back there

in line unless the Steering Committee

decides it is important enough to be--

JEFFERSON:

What's that?

SAUNDERS:

What?

JEFFERSON:

The Steering Committee.

SAUNDERS:

(depressed)

Do you really think we're getting

anywhere.

JEFFERSON:

Yes. Sure. What's a Steering

Committee?

SAUNDERS:

A committee of the majority party

leaders. They decide when a Bill is

important enough to be moved up toward

the head of the list--

JEFFERSON:

*This* is.

SAUNDERS:

Pardon me--*this* is. Where are we

now?

JEFFERSON:

We're over in the House.

SAUNDERS:

Yes. House. More amendments--more

changes--and the Bill goes back to

the Senate--and *waits its turn on

the calendar again*. The Senate

doesn't like what the house did to

the Bill. They make more changes.

The House doesn't like *those*

changes. Stymie. So they appoint men

from each house to go into a huddle

called a conference and battle it

out. Besides that, all the lobbyists

interested give cocktail parties for

and against--government departments

get in their two cents' worth--cabinet

members--budget bureaus--embassies.

Finally, if the Bill is alive after

all this vivisection, it comes to a

vote. Yes, sir--the big day finally

arrives. And--nine times out of ten,

they vote it down.

(Taking a deep breath)

Are you catching on, Senator?

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