03x05 - I'm Just a Bill

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] I'm just a bill.

[instrumental music playing]

[boy] Whew! You sure gotta climb
a lot of steps

to get to this Capitol Building
here in Washington.

Well, I wonder who that sad
little scrap of paper is?

♪ I'm just a bill
Yes, I'm only a bill ♪

♪ And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill ♪

♪ Well, it's a long long journey ♪

♪ To the capital city ♪

♪ It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee ♪

♪ But I know I'll be a law someday ♪

♪ At least I hope and pray that I will ♪

♪ But today I am still just a bill ♪

Gee, Bill, you certainly have
a lot of patience and courage.

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,

so they called their local Congressman.

And he said, "You're right.
There oughta be a law."

Then he sat down and wrote me out

and introduced me
to Congress and I became a bill.

And I'll remain a bill
until they decide to make me a law.

♪ I'm just a bill
Yes, I'm only a bill ♪

♪ And I got as far as Capitol Hill ♪

♪ Well, now I'm stuck in committee
and I'll sit here and wait ♪

♪ While a few key Congressmen ♪

♪ Discuss and debate ♪

♪ Whether they should let me be a law ♪

♪ How I hope and pray that they will ♪

♪ But today I am still just a bill ♪

[arguing continues]

Listen to those Congressmen arguing.

Is all that discussion
and debate about you?

Yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones.
Most bills never even get this far.

I hope they decide
to report on me favorably,

otherwise, I may die.

-Die?
-Yeah, die in committee.

Ooh! But it looks like I'm gonna live.

Now I go to the House of Representatives
and they vote on me.

-[boy] If they vote yes, what happens?
-[Bill] Then I go to the senate

and the whole thing starts all over again.

-[boy] Oh, no!
-[Bill] Oh, yes!

♪ I'm just a bill
Yes, I'm only a bill ♪

♪ And if they vote for me
On Capitol Hill ♪

♪ Well, then I'm off to the White House
Where I'll wait in a line ♪

♪ With a lot of other bills
For the President to sign ♪

♪ And if he signs me, then I'll be a law ♪

♪ How I hope and pray that he will ♪

♪ But today I am still just a bill ♪

[boy] You mean, even if the whole Congress
says you should be a law,

the President can still say no ?

Yes. That's called a "veto."

If the President vetoes me,
I have to go back to Congress

and they vote on me again,
and by that time, you're so old--

[boy] By that time it's very unlikely
that you'll become a law.

-It's not easy to become a law, is it?
-No!

♪ But how I hope and pray that I will ♪

♪ But today I am still just a bill ♪

He signed you, Bill! Now you're a law!

Oh, yes !