That's -- there are, I forget the number, like 160 differentamendments that had been adopted by Republicans into the Senate bill that ultimately passed the Senate.
The whole thing happens at breakneck speed, with the vice president of the Parliament calling out the differentamendments ("vote is open, has everyone voted? vote is closed"), which flashed up on a giant screen as they scrolled through.
Attaching similar amendments to a different bill might both give the government more time to find a compromise and get the Defamation Bill off that particular hook.
So far no bill has bounced between the Houses more than 15 times, but one constraint on the process might be finding a different ink to signify the exchange of amendments.
"We can't go on with a situation where bill after bill of the government's legislative programme is potentially hijacked or contaminated with motions and amendments that are about something that is completely different, " he said.