American Tax Officer

Chapter 763: Chapter 382: Senate Voting Begins_2

“`

And it should be known that the Senate only has 100 senators, so such a ratio was indeed not small.

Of course, led by the Goda, Charlie, and Beisemai families, to secure their favored companies in the next step, they truly invested heavily.

After their meeting with David concluded, they immediately organized a discussion with their senators.

The content of the discussion, naturally, was to seduce these senators with various benefits to ensure they would not defect during the vote.

Anyway, the outcome would likely be revealed tomorrow, unexpected things notwithstanding, for tomorrow was the day of the Senate vote!

...

Washington D.C., Internal Revenue Service, Inspector General’s Office.

“Inspector General, this is the latest list compiled by the major families!”

Manson walked in, handing over a dozen documents to Suyi.

David picked one up and saw that the two senators from Texas were no problem; they assured full support for the bill through the House of Congress.

The same promises were made from Alabama State.

Ohio State, Alagas, and more than a dozen other states also said they would stand by his side.

Adding these up totaled 45 senators.

Plus the 16 that David himself had personally secured, the total was 61!

This number, on the surface, seemed large, suggesting not only a steady bill passage but also the possibility of bypassing the congressmen’s speeches.

But like the previous House of Congressman votes, this was just the official count.

During this time, to ensure there would be no mishaps during voting, the Kennedy Family and the families from the states had put in a lot of effort working with him.

But no matter how much effort was put in, nothing could be foolproof.

Because the senators were human, not unfeeling machines, and humans have feelings, they can have different thoughts and allegiances.

Meaning that, among these 61 senators, if there were any who did defect, it wouldn’t come as a surprise.

But conversely, if more than two defected, there would be trouble.

It was regrettable that the Senate voting was beginning tomorrow, and there was no more time left for maneuvering.

Otherwise, he might have been able to secure a few more senators.

“Inspector General, the Director and Donald have taken their positions…”

As David was worrying over these matters, Kepel entered to remind him.

With no other option, David could only stand up, take the elevator straight to the meeting room door, push it open, and walk in.

“How are things looking, David? How do we stand now?”

As soon as David was seated, Obadiah immediately inquired.

“Based on the latest lists compiled by the states, and adding the numbers we control, the total is 61!”

“61…”

Upon hearing this number, those present initially felt some joy, but it quickly subsided,

Clearly, they were aware, just like David, that this was only the official number, and it would be foolish to consider it the final count just like that.

“Let’s just wait and see during the vote!”

At the same time, on Senado Island.

Aside from Henrietta and The Seven Great Families, members of Freemasonry, Nancy also arrived.

Because Nancy was the Speaker of the House and the upcoming vote was going to be presided over by the Senate, she did not have to appear tomorrow.

Her visit today was merely to probe the exact situation, as everyone was in the same boat now; if the bill passed, she would also suffer.

“Speak up, how are our votes?”

Henrietta’s voice interrupted everyone’s reverie, and Joshua immediately responded, “To this point, the number of votes we hold is… 56!”

“56? Are they reliable?”

“This…”

Joshua was somewhat troubled; before the vote took place, who could guarantee their count was reliable?

“`

If she were to make a guarantee now and the result turned out to be a disappointing number of votes, she couldn’t bear the responsibility for that outcome.

“Speak up!”

“Mr. Henrietta, I can’t make any guarantees about stopping the bill’s passage, but judging from the current situation, it’s highly unlikely they’ll get through the speaking obstruction phase!”

Currently, the openly counted votes on her side were 56.

While to block the bill with a speech during the filibuster, they would need 60 votes.

So Joshua thought that even if there were some defectors from his side, it would definitely not be as high as 16 in number.

“Very well, I hope things unfold as you’ve described, otherwise…”

Henrietta’s words made Joshua involuntarily shiver.

With the bill reaching the Senate, if they couldn’t stop it, he didn’t know what to do next.

But since things had come to this point, there was no use in saying more—he could only wait for tomorrow’s outcome.

While Freemasonry was holding a meeting on their side, the Illuminati’s Ansa Group was also making their final arrangements.

This night was destined to be a sleepless one for many.

The time arrived at nine o’clock the next morning; the media had already gathered in large numbers at the entrance to Congressional Hill.

“Hello, viewers, we have reached the gates of Congressional Hill, and the Senators from various states have also arrived one after another. Let’s see what the latest developments are with the offshore tax avoidance bill, shall we?”

“Hello, dear viewers, after a long week’s process, the Senate’s review phase is finally over. Today, there will be a voting process on the offshore tax avoidance bill. Let’s keep our eyes peeled to see if this bill can make it through today’s Senate vote!”

“…”

Reporters animatedly broadcast while viewers in front of the television discussed enthusiastically.

“In the previous round of voting in the House of Representatives, there were 222 votes in favor of the bill. That’s a significant majority; it’s sure to pass in the Senate today.”

“That’s not certain, the House of Representatives has 435 members, so there are many variables, but the Senate only has 100 Senators, it’s bound to be more tense.”

“According to the Washington Post, the opposing members of the Senate plan to use unlimited speaking time to obstruct the voting on the bill, I wonder if it’s true.”

“No way, unlimited speaking? That’s so disgusting, isn’t it?”

Amid a buzz of discussion, the time reached 9:30.

At this moment, Senators had already started to enter and take their seats in the Senate chamber, and invited media members also set up their cameras.

A white-haired man with a high nose bridge walked down the aisle and then stepped up to the podium.

He was the current Senate Majority Leader, Grace Addy, and he would preside over today’s vote.

“Hello everyone, I’m Senate Majority Leader Grace Addy, and I will be presiding over today’s vote.”

“However, before we begin, I have a few additional remarks to make.”

“The first point is, the offshore tax avoidance bill, although controversial upon its introduction, has now made it this far in legislation and even passed the House of Representatives to come to our Senate, which is a testament to its value.”

“Therefore…”

“…”

Everyone thought.

That Grace would just offer a short introduction like Nancy did last time before jumping into the main subject.

But unexpectedly, he showed no signs of stopping and continued to speak uninterrupted for nearly twenty minutes.

Even a fool could understand his intentions by this point.

Just as many had predicted, based on what the media had reported, the opposing members indeed planned to use long speeches to obstruct the vote on the bill.

“Shet, so they are really using this tactic, utterly disgusting!”

“Alright already, you damn Senator, stop talking and get off the stage, let’s get to the main point!”

“So annoying, one or two sentences are enough, hurry up and get down from there, we want to vote!”

Seeing this, the public who supported the bill were not having it and soon took to the internet to vent their anger.