An End Run Around Accountability

Ramming a public plan through under the radar, plus how does one party government affect the stock market historically? An interesting take by Eric Singer, IBD:

Separately, House/Senate Conference reports are used to harmonize differences between House and Senate versions of legislation. The Democrats appear to be going all-in on steamrolling by using "budget reconciliation" to get health care legislation directly to Conference. This keeps open the possibility of passing a law with a "public option."

This may happen because it looks like the health care bill would be successfully filibustered despite the Democrats' 60-seat majority in the Senate. So, the Baucus Senate Bill will appear to have no "public option" in health care reform, while the gerrymandered protected House of Representatives bill will offer a "public option."

All this looks like it's going ahead with an eye toward passage of both bills, allowing Democratic senators to say they didn't initially vote for a "public option" while the same "public option" will be eventually added as the result of the House/Senate Conference. If it is, we will know the fix is in.

Singer runs the Congressional Effect Fund. Read on.