Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled today that he would support including a public option in a reconciliation bill.

Reid spokesman Rodell Mollineau put out this statement:

Senator Reid has always and continues to support the public option as a way to drive down costs and create competition. That is why he included the measure in his original health care proposal. If a decision is made to use reconciliation to advance health care, Senator Reid will work with the White House, House and members of his caucus in an effort to craft a public option that can overcome procedural obstacles and secure enough votes.



The move is a significant step forward for a public option left for dead (again) only a few months ago. Still, there are a number of Democratic Senate moderates who oppose the public option and also have reservations about using reconciliation to pass reform — a possibly deadly combination.

And before getting too excited about the Senate leader's support for the measure, it's important to remember that Reid also backed an opt-out public option last fall, which failed to win the 60 votes it needed to pass. And while reconciliation's 51-vote threshold is lower, the post-Massachusetts political environment is also much tougher.

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