Wall Street Journal: "U.S. Senate debate on health-care legislation likely will be pushed back further into October, with a Senate Finance Committee vote on its health-care bill expected later this week.
According to an aide for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate debate on the legislation is likely to be delayed 'at least a week.' Reid had earlier slated debate to begin the week of Oct. 12.
The delay occurs as the Senate Finance Committee waits for a cost estimate of its bill from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). According to a Senate Finance Committee aide, the committee expects to receive the cost estimate 'later this week.'
With the recent bad news on unemployment, the GOP is making hay over their claims that health care reform could deliver a knockout punch to small businesses. It is likely that the Senate is responding with extreme caution, and that health care reform will not include a government option, if it happens at all.
The rally in the S&P 500 that started last Friday is predicted to be nearing its close, so we could see a large dip in the markets in the next week or two, which would correspond to the decision making process of the Senate. So, the argument that a public option would be "bad for the job market", justly or unjustly, will almost certainly receive support from the markets in the next 5-10 business days.
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