American tax officials

Chapter 381 The Intense Stage

Just when many people at the IRS were about to unleash a torrent of curses, things finally took a turn for the better.

The fourth ballot was drawn, and the result on the big screen showed that it was a vote in favor of passing the bill!

"Shit, good!"

"Wyvern, the very powerful Wyvern!"

"Finally got the votes in favor! Now let's go for it!"

The high-ranking officials, whose minds were already under extreme tension, were finally able to release some of the pressure after seeing the vote in favor.

"Wait...look!"

However, before they could dwell on their feelings, something even more inspiring was yet to come.

The fourth, fifth... all the way up to the tenth vote, according to the results displayed on the big screen, were all in favor of passing the bill.

Moreover, some of the votes included votes from members of Congress who were originally on the side of the three major corporations, but have now defected to the IRS camp!

"Chief Inspector David, you've done an excellent job with this defection effort too!"

This result brought a sigh of relief to Obadiah, who had been clenching his fists, and he turned to praise David.

"They're targeting our people, so naturally I won't stand idly by."

During this period, the three major groups have been lobbying their respective members of parliament, and David was not going to stand idly by. He also used various means to put pressure on the members of the opposing camp.

Now that these three major groups of lawmakers have made their choices in the vote, it means that his methods have been effective.

All the effort I put in over this period of time wasn't in vain!

If these people "see the light" at this crucial moment, coupled with the votes they previously tallied, the probability of this bill passing will increase even further!

"Hahaha, those Freemasons must have been laughing their heads off just now. I'd like to see if they can still laugh now!"

"Haha, yeah, what a pity, we won't get to see their true colors!"

"No need to feel sorry, Nanxi in the stands already knows!"

Upon hearing the words of this high-ranking official, everyone stared intently at the large screen.

As expected, even the shrewd and calculating Nan Xi couldn't sit still in the face of such a sudden reversal. The confident look on her face had gradually turned into a deep and serious expression.

However, to be fair, Nanxi on stage was actually quite well-behaved, considering that she was being broadcast live in front of the entire nation and couldn't afford to lose her composure.

But the members of the three major groups couldn't hold back any longer.

"Fuck you, those damn bastards are unreliable!"

"Damn it, I knew David would target those senators in our camp too, and sure enough, he did."

"..."

Seeing their votes instantly reversed and even surpassed by a large margin, especially since it was voted by members of their own camp who turned against them, many people in the three major groups began to vent their anger by smashing cups, pounding tables, and doing other such things.

……

As time went on, the battle gradually intensified.

At this point, the number of votes had reached 230.

Currently, the bill has 120 votes in favor of passing, which generally gives it an advantage.

As for the number of votes against, there were 110.

It is worth mentioning that there were not a single abstention vote.

Actually, it's not that members of Congress don't have the option to abstain in their votes; there are deeper reasons behind this.

Parliament is not like the United Nations.

The United Nations represents its member states, so when the General Assembly holds a vote on a matter, it is common for many countries to abstain. No one criticizes this.

But it's different in the United States Congress.

Why would the people elect you to be a councilor?

That's so that you can exercise the power of a legislator to secure benefits for them.

Take this bill for example. It concerns tens of thousands of people. Regardless of whether you vote for or against it, you should at least vote and have your own stance. Only then can you live up to your job as a member of parliament.

If you choose to abstain, then what are you supposed to do by coming up here?

Is it just so they can come up here to abstain and try to smooth things over?

If that's the case, then who can't take the shot?

In short, voting for or against is a matter of stance, while abstaining represents failing to fulfill one's duties.

Therefore, for any bill, there are basically only two options: vote for or vote against. As for abstaining, it would affect one's political career, so very few members of parliament choose to abstain.

Ten minutes or so passed as I pondered these thoughts.

At this point, the number of votes displayed on the big screen reached 400.

Coincidentally, after reaching this number of votes, a tense situation emerged.

Currently, there are 202 votes in favor of the bill's passage, while there are 198 votes against it, a difference of two votes.

There are only 35 votes left.

In other words, anything can happen next!

The State Taxation Administration.

As the voting process began, with its ups and downs, the atmosphere in the meeting room returned to tense and solemn.

In general.

The vote has been cast to this point, and on the surface, they still have the advantage, as they maintain a two-vote lead. However, in reality, their situation is not very optimistic.

Keep in mind that before the voting even started, they had 239 open votes!

But now the entire college only has 35 votes left.

Even if all 35 votes were added to them, it would only amount to a mere 237 votes.

In other words, they lost at least two votes.

"These remaining 35 votes are crucial; let's hope for a good result!..."

Obadiah said those words in a deep voice.

Everyone present, including David, held their breath and clenched their fists.

"They're here!"

As soon as a senior executive gave the prompt, everyone turned their attention to the large screen, abandoning their previous thoughts.

At the Congressional venue.

At this moment, all the spotlights were focused on a man in a suit with a large beard.

This is Snow Maxwell, a key member of the Kennedy family in the House of Representatives.

Without the slightest hesitation, Snow Maxwell pressed the "yes" button on the voting button in front of him.

At this moment, the bill has 203 votes in favor in the House of Representatives, just 15 votes away from the number needed to pass!

Next, the spotlight shone on a middle-aged man with white hair.

His name is Bluher DeWitt, the House Majority Leader, the second most important person after Speaker Nancy!

Unsurprisingly, he voted against it.

Moreover, under his leadership as the majority party leader, his supporters cast nine more dissenting votes.

Now, the number of votes against the bill has suddenly surpassed the number of votes in favor, reaching 207.

It was just 11 votes away from severing the bill.

This put everyone in America on edge.

"Oh my god, oh my god, my heart can't take it anymore, I can't watch anymore, please let me know when there's a result!"

"Currently, there are 207 votes against and 203 votes in favor, so it's still a stalemate. Unfortunately, it's the IRS's turn to lose!"

"No, the IRS absolutely has to win this bill..."

All the onlookers were breathing heavily and their hearts were racing; some were even too nervous to watch.

However, they were not the only ones who were nervous. At this moment, the three major groups, the major capitalists, and the people from the IRS were also restless.

However, what made the IRS feel relieved was...

Following the order of the votes, the next one is Josh!

Josh wasn't just one of them; more importantly, he also held the position of House Whip.

Once he votes, his cronies will definitely follow suit, and the number of votes for the bill in favor should catch up instantly!

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Josh pressed the voting button.

As expected, in order to reach an agreement with David and ascend to the speaker's seat, he went all out and cast his vote in favor without hesitation.

Under his charge, his cronies also pressed their votes in favor.

The number of votes in favor, which was originally 203, suddenly surged by 8 to 211, leaving only seven votes to pass the bill!

Currently, only 17 votes remain uncast by the court!

Whether they are human or ghost depends on these 17 people!

But no matter how you look at it.

The pressure now falls on Nanxi and the three major groups.

What makes them uneasy is that many of the 17 people who will be voting next are swing voters.

Although these groups had tried to persuade them many times and promised numerous benefits, many of them did not give a definite answer, only replying that they would consider it.

So at this point, they didn't know what these swing voters were thinking, or whether they would side with them and cast the crucial vote.

"Fuck you!"

"Those damn bastards!"

"Shit!"

As I pondered this, the vote count on the big screen continued to appear, with three more members casting three votes in favor, which immediately drew a barrage of criticism from the three major groups.

Regardless, the bill is just four more pages away from passing the House of Representatives!

At this moment, Nanxi on the stage could no longer sit still. If the bill were to be passed under his leadership, he would definitely be in big trouble.

So before the next member of parliament even began voting, her fierce gaze had already swept over them.

That look seemed to say: If you dare to vote in favor again, I'll make sure you regret it!

"Who is Nanxi glaring at? Is she trying to threaten her?"

"It's definitely her. Judging from her eyes, she definitely doesn't want this bill to pass."

"Rumors have been circulating for the past few days that Nanxi was an opponent of this bill, and now it's proven true!"

"For the Speaker of the House to dare threaten members of Congress in front of the entire nation at this crucial moment of voting is utterly lawless!"

And everyone isn't blind; how could they not see Nanxi's threatening gaze?

Many IRS supporters have begun sending a barrage of criticisms to Nansie, accusing her of openly oppressing members of Congress.

"Hehe, it seems Nanxi can't sit still any longer."

"The bill is only four votes away from passing; there's no way she'll stay put."

"Heh, let him struggle. He's only four votes short!"

While the higher-ups at the IRS didn't directly hurl insults, they continued to ridicule Nanxi's shameless behavior.

But to be fair, as someone who has been a powerful figure in American politics for so many years, Nancy's threatening look did have an effect.

At least after a moment's hesitation, the congressman cast a dissenting vote.

In this case, the number of opposing votes reached 208, just 10 votes away from the bill failing.

At that moment, the spotlight shone on a Black woman.

Her name is Amy Ingrid, and she is currently the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.

However, even though she hasn't voted yet, many Americans believe that it will most likely be a no-vote!

Because after the bill was introduced, this minority leader made some statements through the media and social media platforms, clearly expressing his opposition to the bill.

To make matters worse, it is well known that this minority leader's campaign funds over the years have been provided by Silicon Valley giants.

Therefore, it seems perfectly reasonable for her to vote against it.

In fact, even people from the three major groups think so, because the minority leader has repeatedly assured them that he will do everything in his power to prevent the bill from passing!

However, just when everyone thought Amy would firmly vote against it, what happened next left them all dumbfounded.

[Congressman Amy: Yes!]

When those words appeared on the large electronic screen, the atmosphere instantly fell silent, and countless people were shocked by what they saw.

"Oh my god, what's going on? Wasn't this minority leader always against this bill? How come he's now in favor of its passage?"

"This is a bit outrageous. When the off-site tax avoidance bill was first introduced, this congressman was one of the most vehement opponents, but then he voted in favor during the voting process. What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but something must have happened that no one knows about, otherwise Councilor Amy would never have done this!"

Upon seeing this result, the American people were stunned for a long time. After they came to their senses, they began to discuss it in confusion.

"What... what's going on?"

"What's going on? Did Amy press the wrong button?"

"It's impossible that she pressed the wrong button. If she really did, she could report it to Nanxi in person and then vote again. But do you see any intention of her reporting it now?"

Meanwhile, the IRS executives were also quite surprised by this.

If it were just an ordinary member of Congress, it wouldn't matter, but this is the House Minority Leader, who is considered one of the most important figures in the House.

Moreover, as everyone knows, she is a very close member of the Freemasons. How could she betray them like this?

(End of this chapter)