Ben Nelson Boards the Bus

But will the final bill worked out in the House-Senate Conference have any chance of passsage in both houses? Since it will only need 50 votes in the Senate, expect it to look more like the House bill, with either a Public Option or a “Medicare to 55 Buy-In” back on the table. So Nelson and Lieberman have played their cards, and now the action will swing back to the House. There, it will all depend on the Blue Dog Democrats. Can Pelosi keep them in line?

Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), the final Democratic holdout on health care, announced to his caucus Saturday morning that he would support the Senate reform bill, clearing the way for final passage by Christmas.

“We’re there,” said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), as he headed into a special meeting to outline the deal.

via Sen. Ben Nelson to announce support for health-care bill.

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