Many believe that Mr Menem has already accepted that his party will lose in 1999, and aims simply to cause enough trouble to prevent any of his rivals getting a firm grip on the party leadership.
But the very reason it was able to pass in the Senate is what's going to causetrouble in the House, because there are any number of Republicans there who don't like the fact that it's in a budget bill.
And if a punter starts to causetrouble, staff are expected to practise voice control "so you are not returning any sign of confrontation or aggression".