Believe it or not, rumors are floating down from Capitol Hill that conferees to the reckless 2005 tax reconciliation bill may have finally reached agreement on a bill they hope will pass both chambers. The Congress has been working on this bill for well over a year and it was starting to look like they would not be able to reach consensus. While no deal has been announced and time is running out this week before a two-week recess, the conferees may push a bill that extends reduced rates on capital gain and dividends - overwhelmingly benefiting super wealthy Americans - and a one year "patch" for the Alternative Minimum Tax. Other popular provisions, such as the business research and development tax credit and other items expiring this year would move in a seperate bill. There are still hurdles to overcome for the bill, such as a budget point of order that will surely be raised by Democrats in the Senate (since the bill violates a Senate rule prohibiting increasing the deficit outside of the bill's five-year budget window), and the possibility enough Senators may oppose the entire bill (a long-shot, but a possibility). Conferees and GOP leaders would like to finish the bill before the recess and the arbitrary and entirely symbolic deadline for filing tax returns on April 15 - but with only two days left, that may involve keeping both chambers in session into the weekend.