And then it would still have to go to the House where all of them have to face the voters.
The best chance for passage was for it to get it done quickly.
If any amendments are added to get GOP votes, then the Democrats will reject it.
Bush has no political capital to get this bill through, with even his own GOP base rejecting it.
But he still has that special pen reserved for occasions like this. Would he use it? Hey, what's one more executive order added to the stack? Merely a formality for someone clearly determined to set up a chain of tamale stands across the nation. And, of course, everyone knows that you will need a lot more intersections to set up a successful fast-food franchise. That means a lot more roads will have to be built. Big ones. Wide ones. Very long, coast to coast, border to border ones.
No problem. Stroke of the pen, law of the land. ;<