American tax officials

Chapter 386 Ruthless Methods

At the same time, at the IRS headquarters, David and his senior executives also looked grim.

The situation they least wanted to see has still occurred.

Moreover, it's one thing that the speaker was an ordinary senator, but it was the Senate Majority Leader.

Given this guy's prestige in the courtyard, getting him kicked out would be more than just difficult, it would be extremely difficult!

In the Senate chamber, Grace was still speaking at length.

He didn't stop talking until 10:30 a.m., after a full hour.

"Alright, that concludes my discussion on this bill. Is there anyone else in Congress who would like to add anything?"

Grace's first sentence brought a sigh of relief to many people present, including those watching from the United States, but her second sentence made everyone's hearts jump again.

But what you fear most is what happens; a voice volunteering immediately broke the silence.

"I have some thoughts to share regarding this bill!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look, and the cameras of all the major media outlets also swept towards the source of the sound.

It turns out that the voice that came out was none other than Senator Longman, who had called for the repeal of the Black Tax Act!

"Damn it, it's that Longman who jumped out. This guy previously advocated for the repeal of the black tax bill, and now he definitely doesn't want the bill to pass the Senate smoothly."

"Yes, if he advocates for the repeal of the tax evasion law, then there's no way he'd support a law allowing tax evasion in other states!"

"This is troublesome..."

The audience watching were no strangers to Langman.

But many supporters of the bill felt a chill run down their spines at his idea to take the stage and deliver a speech on the off-site tax avoidance bill.

Because they all knew that this guy was one of the staunchest opponents of the bill's passage!

But while they were dissatisfied, Grace, present at the scene, was different. He smiled slightly, waved, and said, "It is our prerogative to offer guidance on the bill, so let's invite Senator Longman to come up and say something!"

"OK."

Longman straightened his collar, strolled leisurely to the podium, and began to speak: "As Senator Grace said before, this bill..."

"..."

As everyone expected.

Langman was also using his speech to delay the vote. Once on stage, he rambled on and on about a lot of nonsense, wasting nearly half an hour.

Finally, Senator Rugren of Florida, a supporter of the bill, couldn't hold back any longer and stood up to interrupt, saying, "Enough!"

This interruption not only stopped Langman from speaking, but also drew the attention of everyone present and the cameras to him.

Longman frowned, a hint of displeasure in his voice as he sarcastically remarked, "Senator Lagren, you want to say a few words too? Don't be in such a hurry. After I'm done, you'll have plenty of time to talk, you can talk all day long!"

"Hmph, we're all smart people, let's not waste our time playing these tricks!"

Ragren snorted coldly and retorted without any politeness.

I let Grace off the hook just now, after all, she's the Senate Majority Leader, so I had to give her some face.

But who do you think you are now, Langman?

If we don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think the Senate is your personal domain!

"Senator Lagren, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to stop me from continuing? Do you have enough votes?"

Langman retorted without backing down.

However, Ragren had no intention of continuing to banter with him. After glancing around, he simply raised his right hand.

His move made his intentions quite clear: he was starting to cast votes to end the speech segment!

The lawmakers who supported the bill along with him had naturally had enough and responded by raising their right arms.

Seeing this, Grace, the presiding senator for the day, could no longer remain seated and stood up, saying, "Since Raglan has initiated a vote to end the speech, the votes will be counted in five minutes!"

"Fuck, this voting process should have been started a long time ago!"

"To stop the speech and delay the vote, you need the consent of 60 senators. Surely that won't be enough votes..."

"41, 42, 43..."

Seeing that it was finally time to vote to stop this delaying tactic, many people in front of their televisions immediately began counting their votes.

Not only the viewers in front of their televisions, but also a group of high-ranking officials at the IRS started counting.

But as time went on and the vote count became clearer, their expressions gradually darkened.

Because it was clearly visible on the big screen that, no matter how you counted, only 58 senators raised their hands, which was not enough to end the speech.

In other words, it cannot prevent opposition lawmakers from using their speeches on the bill to explore ways to delay its passage!

"Damn it, David, who are those three senators who didn't raise their hands?"

Donald couldn't help but curse, but after he finished, he turned his questioning gaze to David.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's Nick from Alaska, Roger from Ohio, and Angus!"

"Shit, those three bastards!"

"Fuck you!"

"..."

Upon learning the names of these three individuals, many high-ranking officials began to hurl insults.

But after a moment, Rahan said thoughtfully, "Currently, it seems only three senators are the mole. This means we've confirmed that 58 senators will support the bill's passage, which is actually a good thing for us!"

These words instantly calmed the others down.

That's true. Although this wasn't a vote on the off-site tax avoidance bill, the vote to obstruct the speech shows that they had a significant advantage.

Indeed, only three members of parliament have turned against the bill, meaning that if it really goes to the voting stage, their bill will definitely pass without a doubt.

However, in order to proceed to the voting stage on this bill, the opposition lawmakers' speeches on stage, which were intended to delay the process, must first be stopped.

But this requires 60 votes, which seems to be a vicious cycle!

"Are there any other ways to stop their speech?"

Obadiah looked at the others present with an inquiring gaze.

"The speech procedure is a power granted to senators by the Constitution, and there is really no other way for the time being except to get enough votes."

The answer was from Vertonghen.

As the chief advisor to the IRS, he naturally has a thorough understanding of laws and regulations.

Obadiah frowned and looked at David, saying, "David, do you have any other ideas about this?"

David thought for a moment, then shook his head and replied, "They're all in Congress right now, so it seems we can only wait until today is over before making any plans."

"Alright, that's the only way!"

……

The scene at the Senate.

"So, Senator Lagren, you only have 58 votes to end my speech. That's not enough according to Congressional law!"

Seeing that they didn't have enough votes, opposition lawmakers like Langman became instantly smug.

As for Ragren and the others, although they were filled with hatred, there was nothing they could do.

Because what they said is indeed correct. According to the Congressional Law, if a candidate does not receive 60 votes, they are not entitled to bypass the speech and proceed directly to the voting stage.

Of course, it wasn't just Lagren and other supporters who were furious.

There is also a large group of people who support this bill, but they can only grumble online and there is nothing they can do.

And so, after Langman and other opposition members took turns speaking, time passed and it was already 1 p.m.

Then it was finally Grace's turn to speak. He said, "I'm sorry everyone, our members of parliament haven't finished speaking about their opinions on this bill and the areas that need improvement. It's getting late, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow to continue!"

Grace's words, of course, drew a barrage of criticism from those who supported the bill.

But whether he didn't see it or pretended not to see it, he turned around, packed his briefcase, and left.

Opposition lawmakers like Longman glanced smugly at Raglan and his group before swaggering away.

"Ragren, this can't go on. What should we do tomorrow?"

"Yeah, judging from the way these guys are acting, they're planning to stick to this whole thing. We need to find a way to bypass this procedure, otherwise the bill won't pass."

"Don't worry, I'll go talk to David right now; he should have a solution!"

Raglan didn't linger any longer, quickly walked out of the Capitol Building, got into his car, and headed towards the IRS headquarters.

Meanwhile, on Senado Island...

Although they have won on the surface, their current situation is actually very dangerous.

The logic is simple: by using this speech process, they can delay the bill from going to the voting stage.

But as the saying goes, can you delay forever?

Under pressure from all sides, a real vote will likely be necessary to determine the outcome.

The situation now seems to be becoming clearer: the bill has 58 votes in favor of passing, which is an overwhelming majority!

If it really comes down to the voting stage, then based on this number of votes, everything they've done will be in vain!

"Bang! What the hell is going on? Didn't we have 56 votes? What's happening now?!"

Prescott lost his temper and slammed his hand on the table.

Although the others did not directly question him, their gazes were filled with icy coldness.

"this……"

Joshua's face was also somewhat bitter at this moment, and he stammered for a long time without being able to say a word.

To be honest, before voting, he had a premonition that there would be many unexpected changes in the situation.

I never expected things to turn out this way, with more than 14 votes turning against me.

As the person in charge of this matter, he will definitely have to take the blame.

"Obstructing the vote with this method probably won't last long. Putting aside whether David will resort to other means, since such a high-profile bill has already reached the Senate, there will definitely be a result regarding whether it passes or not. So, do we have any other options?"

Henrietta also spoke with a long face.

There was a moment of silence, about a minute, then a man with a hooked nose stood up and said, "Mr. Henrietta, I believe there is a solution for now!"

"Then tell me your plan, Stancho!"

The man named Stanciu turned around, took out a stack of documents from his bag, carefully searched through them, and finally pulled out more than ten volumes, pushing them in front of Henrietta.

Henrietta picked up one of the volumes, glanced at it, and then looked at him, saying, "These are all information files on those senators. What are you giving them to me for?"

"Mr. Henrietta, you know David's abilities. He is best at fabricating dirt on people to coerce them."

"That's how the members of the House of Representatives were before, and that's how most of them succumbed to him. I believe that many of the senators are doing the same now."

"So my plan is... let's just go all the way and see what happens!"

At this point, Stanqiu suddenly became ruthless.

"Wait, Stanciu, what do you mean by 'going all the way'?"

Prescott didn't quite understand and immediately asked.

"It's very simple. The most effective way to control these senators and prevent them from turning against us is to exploit their weaknesses. We can take action directly against their families. I will use threats of force or even detention to force them to vote against the bill in the Senate, thus preventing its failure!"

At this moment, Stanciu fully revealed his ruthless side.

He knew very well that if they could use coercion and bribery against these congressmen, David could too.

Moreover, David's methods were even more sophisticated than theirs.

The previous example from the House of Representatives is there for all to see. Despite spending a lot of money and putting a lot of pressure on those members, David still won in the end.

But if this method is implemented this time, then those councilors will definitely not dare to defect again!

Because no one is more important than the lives of their family!

Hearing such harsh words, not only the ordinary members, but even seasoned veterans like Prescott and Joshua were stunned.

Those are senators in Congress, each one of the top politicians in America, and some of them may even become presidents in the future.

However, this Stancho is now proposing to take action against these people's families in order to coerce them into voting?

Moreover, it would be one thing to target one or two people, but to get enough votes to thwart the off-site tax avoidance bill, at least nine more votes would be needed.

In other words, if word got out that they were going to take such extreme measures against nine senators, even if they had a lot of power, the nation's condemnation would drown them!

(End of this chapter)