### Clue: Board/boards that Bill needs for passage (9,5)
### Answer: COMMITTEE STAGE 
 ### Explanation: Board/boards that Bill needs for passage (9,5)
Like 10A, I have the feeling that this is more than a cryptic definition, but here I cannot make it out. A last minute suggestion (having spent too long wondering if Bill is Gates): COMMITTEE ('board') plus STAGE ('boards').