American tax officials

Chapter 304 The Aid Bill Enters Voting Phase

The next morning, less than half an hour after David arrived at his office, Kepper knocked and entered, saying, "Director, Mr. Josh Rachel from Congress has arrived and wants to see you."

"Josh Rachel?"

David was initially unfamiliar with the name, but the person's information quickly came to mind.

Josh Rachel is a congressman and a member of the MZD movement, but he also holds a more important position: the House Majority Whip.

Regarding the House Majority Whip, you can refer to Frank, the protagonist of the American TV series "House of Cards".

The duties of this position are to ensure that all members of the party participate in the vote, to coordinate the interests of members of the party in various constituencies, and to ensure that members of the party can unite sincerely and form a political synergy when voting.

In addition, the majority whip is responsible for overseeing the discipline of all members of the House of Representatives and is the third most powerful person in the House after the Speaker and the Majority Leader.

Aside from the House of Representatives, the majority party whip is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and influential figures in American politics.

Just look at Frank, the protagonist of House of Cards. In the show, Frank is able to manipulate a host of top figures, including the president, vice president, secretary of state, and speaker of the house, which is something that would be absolutely impossible without holding the position of party whip.

Of course, American TV shows may exaggerate, but in reality, someone who can sit in the position of party whip is undoubtedly a cunning and shrewd old fox in the political arena.

I wonder what this old fox's purpose is in coming to see him today.

Could it be that……

David seemed to have guessed something, but the other party was, after all, a top figure in American politics, and since the other party had already come to his door in person, he couldn't just avoid seeing him; that would be too disrespectful. So he could only say, "Then bring him up."

"Yes."

Seven or eight minutes later, there was another knock on the door, and a man in his fifties walked in.

He was tall and slender, with some gray hair. He wore a well-tailored suit with a gray tie, a sapphire ring on his right hand, and a faint smile on his face.

"Chief David, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time."

"Mr. Josh, it's a pleasure to meet you too. Please have a seat."

Josh sat down and said casually, "The Aid to W Act will be going to the vote in Congress in a few days. I wonder what your opinion is, Chief David? Do you hope this bill will pass?"

"I'm just a taxpayer; I don't comment on such national affairs."

David wasn't stupid; he realized the other party was trying to trick him into revealing information. To avoid trouble, he naturally wouldn't comment on the matter casually.

"The United States is a country that values ​​freedom, and everyone has the right to comment on such matters. Moreover, the funding for the W Act was obtained by Director David through your own efforts. I think you should express your opinion appropriately."

"My view is that I support all decisions made by Congress."

David's answer was clever. He didn't explicitly say whether he supported or opposed the Aid Bill, but his underlying meaning was that if Congress passed it, he would support it, and if it didn't, he wouldn't support it. This was a kind of tai chi.

"Little fox..."

Josh muttered to himself, then said, "The W aid bill is progressing smoothly, so I can tell you right now that its passage is almost guaranteed."

The main reason he brought this up now was to curry favor with David, because he had other purposes for coming today.

David wasn't too surprised to hear this.

It's clear to everyone that the aid bill is the mainstream policy of the White House and Congress, so it would be surprising if it didn't pass.

"Oh, by the way, the initial funding for the W Aid Act is 1000 billion, and judging from your tax revenue situation recently, Director David, your tax treasury should have tens of billions more, right?"

Upon hearing this, David thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

He had guessed earlier that this House bigwig was probably after the remaining funds of their IRS, and now that guess had been confirmed.

"That's right. In addition to the $1000 billion allocated to the Aid Act, our IRS treasury does indeed have tens of billions of dollars in funds."

The issue of funds has already been made public, and now the whole world knows that the IRS has that sum of money; it's impossible to hide it now.

"Then I'll get straight to the point, Director David. To be honest, I've been pushing for a healthcare bill for the past few months, but as you know, the national treasury doesn't have much funding right now. If you could raise that money for me, I would be extremely grateful."

Don't be fooled by Josh's current position as the House Majority Whip and his high rank and power.

However, the position of party whip, like that of a member of the House of Representatives, has a two-year term, and with the midterm elections coming up in November, his opponents are all formidable.

If he wants to keep his position, the best way is to produce some achievements.

The healthcare bill has always been one of the most popular bills. If he can successfully push it through, he will not only be able to retain his position in the House of Representatives, but it is not impossible for him to even rise to a higher position.

This is why he, the third-ranking official in the House of Representatives, would personally come to see David today.

Legally speaking, although David did not have the authority to dispose of the collected taxes, these funds were, after all, collected by David himself.

Therefore, as long as David can issue a statement supporting his healthcare bill, the Treasury Department, Congress, the White House, and even his opponents will consider giving him some face.

After all, if you don't give him face, David can just let the finances get even worse and there will be even less money, and then no one can play anymore.

David rested his chin on his hand and thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Josh, but I still maintain that I'm just a taxpayer, and I don't want to get involved in such important matters as national policies and legislation."

Although helping Josh, a bigwig in the House of Representatives, and gaining this favor would be very helpful to me in the future.

But right now he's just the IRS commissioner in Los Angeles, and if he were to speak out in support of this kind of thing, there would be many unknown risks.

For example, right now at headquarters, apart from people like Donald Obadiah, people like Chief Advisor Vertonghen and Rahan are not friendly towards him.

If he stands up for Josh's so-called healthcare bill and it is eventually approved, where will that leave the likes of Vertonghenrahan and others?

After all, we are the higher-ups in the IRS, and we don't even have the authority to decide how these funds are used. You, David, a mere Los Angeles director, have the power to make decisions? Don't we have any dignity?

Besides potentially causing dissatisfaction from the General Administration, it could also cause dissatisfaction from people in the White House and GHD.

As is well known, the GHD and MZD are two competing political parties.

As a member of the MZD, Josh's proposed healthcare bill would undoubtedly be opposed by the majority of GHD members.

It's common for Congress and the White House to clash and bicker, so Josh's healthcare bill may not necessarily get support from the White House.

Considering all of the above, David decided it was best not to get involved.

Even if he were to get involved, it shouldn't be now. At least wait until he's in the General Administration and has more influence before considering such a thing.

"This doesn't mean you have to get involved with Director David. You can just say something, or even make up a sentence on social media."

Josh seemed a little anxious when he saw David's refusal.

"No, Mr. Josh, please don't make things difficult for me. I really don't want to comment on this kind of thing, and it's not in accordance with the law either."

"Chief David, would you like to join headquarters?"

Josh suddenly changed the subject, and David's gaze sharpened, but he remained silent.

"I know the Freemasons have a grudge against you, and they'll do everything they can to prevent you from getting into headquarters. But if you help me with this, I can help you with that. Also, if you want to become the head of the IRS in the future, I can help you with that too. So, helping me with this will definitely not be a loss for you!"

Within the IRS system, the positions of Commissioner and Chief Counsel require presidential nomination and congressional approval before they can assume office.

As the House Whip, Josh wields considerable influence in Congress, so his claim of being able to help is not an exaggeration.

However, this did not persuade David.

First of all, it's true that the Freemasons have a grudge against him and want to prevent him from entering the headquarters, but judging from the current trend, it shouldn't be a problem for him to enter the headquarters.

Secondly, even if David really wants to become the head of the IRS, he has only been in power for about half a year, and it is impossible for him to take up the position in a short period of time.

Besides, if the opportunity really comes, it's hard to say whether Josh will break his promise or not put in the effort. After all, if you believe everything a politician says, you're just asking for trouble.

With that in mind, David still refused, saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Josh, but as I said before, I'm only focused on my own work for now and don't want to worry about anything else."

"Chief David..."

For the rest of the time, Josh remained persistent, constantly promising David various benefits in return for helping him, but David refused them all, determined not to participate.

Finally, a helpless Josh could only leave behind a business card and a message that he could contact him anytime if he changed his mind, before getting up and leaving.

……

In the following days, following Josh, seven or eight more members of Congress came to him, all with the same goal: to get David to raise funds for them and support their respective bills. But David had already refused even Josh, a bigwig in the House of Representatives, so how could he possibly agree to these people? He sent them all away.

Finally, on the fifth day, the Los Angeles IRS was quiet again, and no more councilors came knocking.

It's not that these lawmakers have given up, but because today is the voting day for the W bill, all the lawmakers have already gathered in Washington, so it's naturally impossible for them to come to Los Angeles.

At 9 a.m., David was already sitting in his office, along with Nison, Bucky Simmons, and a few others.

Their eyes were all fixed on the television set hanging on the wall.

In the United States, not all bill votes are broadcast live. Only when a bill attracts significant attention will the media broadcast it live.

The W aid bill has garnered significant attention recently, so the congressional vote on the bill was naturally broadcast live by the media.

"Buckey, let's bet you, do you think the bill to aid W will get 300 votes?"

"Although the aid bill is a bill strongly supported by the White House and Congress, 300 votes is still a bit exaggerated. I think it will get a maximum of 250 votes."

"Simmons, what do you think?"

"My opinion is similar to Bucky's."

The House of Representatives has 435 members, so any bill will pass the House with 218 votes in favor.

A bill that receives 300 votes in favor is considered overwhelming, but this is a rare occurrence.

Because there are 435 members in the House of Representatives, each with their own political views, and there are also majority and minority parties, which usually oppose each other, the number of votes for and against is generally not too different.

In American history, it has often happened that the votes for and against are separated by only one vote, such as 218 to 217.

Nissen pulled out his wallet, took out two ten-dollar bills, and said, "How about this, since you all think there will be a maximum of 250 votes, I'll bet you. If it's less than 250 votes, you win; if it's more than 250, I win!"

"Come on then, I'm not afraid of you!"

Simmons Bucky was not to be outdone, and both of them pulled out ten dollars and put them on the table.

Nissen smiled with satisfaction, looked at David who was sitting, and joked, "Chief, want to join in a game?"

"Boring, let's start. Stop talking and let's see how it goes."

As they were talking, a large number of members of parliament from the Chinese Congress had already poured in, and David immediately signaled to Nissen and the others to be quiet.

Meanwhile, the internet buzzed with excitement as lawmakers entered the chamber to vote on the aid bill.

Although most people can see that the W aid bill has such a strong voice in the White House and Congress that it is highly likely to pass.

However, even the most probable things can have unexpected outcomes.

In American history, there have been many bills that were initially highly anticipated and widely believed to pass, but ultimately failed.

So the public also wants to see if this aid bill will backfire.

Of course, many people do hope that this bill will fail.

Because if things go wrong, then that 1000 billion yuan might be used for other purposes.

(End of this chapter)