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!