I'm Just a Bill

Wow, you sure gotta count a lotta steps to get to this Capitol Building here in Washington!

Hey, who's that sad little scrap of paper?

(You really wanna know?)

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'm still just a bill

(Gee, Bill, you certainly have a lot of patience and courage!)

I guess, I mean I got this far

But 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 ought to be a law"

Then he sat down, he 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

Oh how I hope and pray that they will

But today I am still just a bill

(Listen to these Congressmen arguing!

Is all that discussion and debate about you?)

You know, it is

I'm one of the lucky ones 'cause most bills never even get this far

If they don't report on me favorably, I'm gonna die

("Die?")

Yeah, die in committee

Bill, you're up!

Eh, looks like I'm gonna live

I gotta go to the House of Representatives now and then they're gonna vote on me, so

(So if they vote "yes", what happens?)

Well, then I go to the Senate and the whole thing starts all over again

(Oh no!)

(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 other bills for the President to sign

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

Oh, how I hope and pray that he will

But today I am still just a bill

(You mean even if the whole Congress says you should be a law, the President can still say no?)

Yep, that's called a veto

And if the President vetoes me, I have to go back to Congress

And they vote on me again, and by that time it's

(By that time, it's very unlikely that you'll become a law!

It's not easy to become a law, is it?)

Nope!

But how I hope and I pray that I will

But today I am still just a bill!

(He signed you, bill! Now you're a law!)

Yeah!