Only once in nearly a century has bean soup not appeared on the menu of the Senate dining room in Washington DC. On Setember 14, 1943, as a result of wartime shortages, the supply of white Michigan beans ran out.
The ensuing senatorial uproar was sufficient to insure that there were beans enough the next day and on every subsequent day thereafter.
"Dirty Little Secrets of WWII"
And now you know the source of all the hot air on the Hill!!!!