Fabula
Object
Object

Banking Bill (stapled legislative packet; includes appended land‑use rider)

A stapled legislative packet of letter‑size pages labeled and circulated as the 'Banking Bill,' its cover and first pages dense with committee headers, amendment text and margin notes. A newly appended land‑use rider is annotated in pen and highlighted by staff. Characters flip through, push it across desks, and treat it as a tangible burden—physically present in briefings and carried into the Oval.
12 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

12 moments
S1E8 · Enemies
Breakfast Reckoning — Opera Tickets as an Olive Branch

The Banking Bill is referenced verbally as the reason for congratulations; it functions narratively as the public achievement that collides with private family strain, motivating Matt Skinner's interruption and the congratulatory ritual.

Before: Not physically present at the table but active in conversation as a topical object.
After: Remains a referenced political achievement that frames the scene's public context.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Bartlet Announces Banking-Lobby Victory

The Banking Bill is invoked as the substantive object of celebration: Bartlet says he wants to gloat about the Banking Bill, using it as the concrete policy payoff that validates the victory over the Lobby and frames the moment as a legislative triumph.

Before: The bill existed as the contested legislative package staff had been working on (physically present in briefings prior to this scene).
After: Narratively shifted from contested legislation to a won victory — the President treats it as a fait accompli to be celebrated.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Creative Impasse — 'Locating Our Talent' in Toby's Office

The Banking Bill is invoked verbally by Josh as an off‑scene policy object; although not physically present, it functions narratively as the external pressure that punctures the private editorial moment and converts low‑stakes self‑doubt into potential political urgency.

Before: Not physically present in the office; exists as a circulating item of rumor and concern in staff conversations.
After: Elevated in perceived urgency by Josh's question; moves from background rumor toward an item requiring follow‑up and verification.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Banking Bill Alert — Josh Interrupts Toby's Creative Lull

The Banking Bill is spoken about as an off‑stage policy object that triggers alarm. It is not physically present but functions narratively as the catalytic threat that converts private doubt into political triage.

Before: Not present in the room; circulating elsewhere in the building or among staff as an item of concern.
After: Remains unlocated but foregrounded as an urgent unknown that staff must track down; its potential presence in the building creates immediate search and worry.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Vindictive Rider Upsets Banking Vote — Team Rushes to Bartlet

The Banking Bill functions as the central legislative object around which the meeting is organized; staff intend to prepare a statement for its passage until the rider is revealed, converting the Bill from a victory to a political risk.

Before: Staked as imminent passage and source of planned positive messaging; perceived as 'in the bag' by Crane's readout.
After: Compromised by the discovery of the attached rider and elevated from messaging subject to live crisis requiring Presidential briefing.
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S1E8 · Enemies
C.J. Shields the Briefing Room

The Banking Bill serves as the ostensible subject of the briefing — the policy vehicle around which optimism is being asserted — but its integrity is tarnished by the rider's presence, turning what should be a routine update into a contested political moment.

Before: Presented as the central legislative priority being discussed at the briefing; portrayed as 'very optimistic' for passage.
After: Its prospects remain central but are now complicated publicly by questions over the rider and the potential political fallout exposed in the hallway exchange.
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S1E8 · Enemies
C.J. on the Defensive — Danny Presses the Leak

The Banking Bill is the named subject of the briefing questions; C.J. repeatedly frames passage optimism for the Banking Bill while deflecting specific inquiries about an attached land‑use rider. The Bill functions narratively as the policy prize whose integrity is threatened by the rider and ensuing leak.

Before: In active circulation and public discussion as the substantive legislation under consideration.
After: Remains the focus of debate; now politically tethered to controversy due to the rider and public questions raised by the briefing.
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S1E8 · Enemies
The Banking Bill Standoff — Principle vs. Perception

The Banking Bill functions as the tangible policy prize Mandy advances; she enumerates its consumer protections and messaging lines to argue that the administration should accept the package despite attached insults. The bill is invoked as persuasive currency rather than physically handled in the scene.

Before: In White House custody and under active negotiation; discussed by staff as a near‑final legislative achievement.
After: Still a live legislative package; unresolved because acceptance is contested — no physical change occurs in the scene.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Personal Strike — Mandy Calls Out Josh, Josh Walks Out

The Banking Bill is the ostensible subject of the meeting: Mandy uses its popular provisions as leverage to argue for compromise, while Josh frames the bill’s attached rider as the lethal flaw that forbids acceptance. The bill functions as the tangible policy prize and background against which motives are interrogated.

Before: Referenced as active legislation on staff radar; politically valuable and circulating among aides.
After: Still politically valuable but now entangled with internal conflict; its passage threatened by unresolved strategic disagreement.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Toby Refuses the Compromise

The Banking Bill is the conversation's bone: Toby announces he is no longer the person to talk to about it, the strip‑mining rider attached to it fuels the argument, and the bill is the policy prize whose fate is being negotiated between principle and expediency.

Before: Circulated legislative packet with a newly appended, controversial strip‑mining rider creating internal crisis and media vulnerability.
After: Still unresolved — politically fragile and the subject of a potential tactical trade; passage threatened by internal fracture and ongoing external pressure.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Mandy's Trade: A Leaky Truce and a Growing Rift

The Banking Bill is the underlying subject of the argument: Toby references it as the item that no longer invites compromise, Mandy frames the post‑passage 'strip‑mining' rider as the harm that can be offset by PR trades, and the bill's contested status drives the strategic disagreement.

Before: Circulated and politically contentious; staff are actively working on messaging and responding to late riders attached to the bill.
After: Remains the contested policy artifact—political strategy around it intensifies as staff split over whether to accept PR trades to manage fallout.
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S1E8 · Enemies
Leak Traced to Mildred; Bartlet Chooses Policy Over Scandal

A visible stack of papers — treated as the President's working material — anchors the scene. It represents the immediate policy work (the banking bill) and symbolizes the substantive prize Bartlet refuses to sacrifice, foregrounding the tension between paperwork and politics.

Before: On the President's desk or in his hands as he reads; intact and under active review.
After: Remains in Bartlet's possession and continues to signify the work to be protected; no physical change but elevated in narrative importance.
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