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Not that being a US senator was anything to sneeze at. It was service to his country, too, just in a different way. And if he couldn’t be a marine, this was the next best thing.
But he still loved it when Carly called him Marine.
* * *
“The chair recognizes Senator Jones from Colorado,” the president pro-tem of the Senate intoned. “Senator Jones, you have the floor.”
Shane rose to his feet. He had notes, but he didn’t need them. “I agree with my esteemed colleague from Texas,” he began, nodding in the direction of that senior senator, who’d just given a long-winded speech in favor of the proposed pipeline under discussion. “The vote on this pipeline bill has been postponed long enough. But I must beg to differ with him in one crucial way—I cannot, in good conscience, vote for a bill that would rape—yes, rape,” he repeated sternly when a gasp went up from the press and the public following this debate from the gallery, “rape our environment and the public coffers the way this pipeline will do if this bill is passed.”
A chill struck him with no warning whatsoever—the way it always did—and Shane could have sworn aloud. Now? A damned seizure was happening now?
He glanced at his notes, pretending he’d paused for effect, and counted the seconds until the chill and the goose bumps disappeared. Then he continued smoothly from where he’d left off, as if he’d never stopped. “As usual, the battle cry is jobs—this pipeline will bring well-paying jobs that are desperately needed in every state the pipeline will pass through, including my own state of Colorado.”
His lips formed a thin line. “The pipeline is needed, I don’t dispute that. But this bill,” he said, hefting the voluminous document for a moment before dropping it with a disdainful thud on his desk, “isn’t the way to go.” He tapped a finger on the offending bill. “This reads as if it was drafted a hundred years ago, when no one worried about the environment. When no one cared about the world their children and grandchildren would inherit.
“We know better now. This bill as written, with all the riders and amendments that have been shoehorned in, is a short-term solution to a complex problem, but a solution with disastrous long-term results.”
He breathed deeply. “And there’s more. This bill is rife with potential for corruption and greed at the expense of the American taxpayer. There’s big money backing this pipeline. Fortunes are riding on it. I can’t speak for every senator here, but I can tell you this—I was approached months ago by several different lobbyists seeking my approval on this bill. I was offered ‘campaign contributions’—a euphemism for bribes, in my opinion—if I would give the bill my tacit support. And even bigger ‘campaign contributions’ if I would openly support it.”
Enough on that issue, Shane reminded himself. He wasn’t going to belabor the point about who had taken the money because it didn’t matter. All that truly mattered was garnering enough votes to defeat the bill. To make his fellow senators vote their consciences and not their wallets.
“And so I urge each and every one of you here today to examine your conscience—as I have done—and vote against this bill when it comes to a vote. Not just for the environment and your children’s children. But for the average American taxpayer, as well, struggling to make ends meet and pay his or her fair share toward the common good. Don’t add to the taxpayers’ burden by allowing the beneficiaries of this bill to feed unchecked at the public trough. Thank you.”
He sat down abruptly. Sporadic applause from the gallery—strictly forbidden, as the pounding gavel wielded by the president pro-tem indicated—followed Shane’s impassioned speech. He glanced up at the gallery to acknowledge the applause without openly acknowledging it with a raised hand, and was surprised to see Carly seated up there in the first row, a short distance from one of the C-SPAN cameras.
She was too far away for him to see her expression, but she nodded. And in that instant he knew she agreed with him about the pitfalls of the pipeline bill. It sounded good...until you delved into the details. Until you followed the money trail. Until you ferreted out how this bill would circumvent both federal and state environmental protections that had been put into place over the years to guard against the very thing this pipeline would bring about—deregulation on a massive scale.
