Hemphill was far more effective in persuading his ex-colleagues in the House to act. On December 17, 1896, the House passed a companion bill (H.B. 6713) paying the PHC $51,686 for its land. H.B. 6713 headed for the Senate, where the Senate District of Columbia Committee favorably reported it on January 7. The Senate substituted H.B. 6713 for S. 2332, and on February 11, 1897—with just 20 days left in the 54th Congress—the legislation passed the Senate without discussion. Defeated, the city commissioners asked President Grover Cleveland to sign the bill. He signed it into law on February 20, 1897.