WASHINGTON (AP) — Postpone the health care overhaul until next year so Congress can concentrate on how to pay for President Barack Obama’s expected plans for expanding military operations in Afghanistan, a leading Republican senator said Sunday.
Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said a sharp focus is needed for Obama’s new strategy for the 8-year war and how much it will cost. Many issues should be considered, he said, including the possibility of raising taxes to pay for operations in Afghanistan.
“The war is terribly important,” Lugar said. “Jobs and our economy are terribly important. So this may be an audacious suggestion, but I would suggest we put aside the health care debate until next year, the same way we put cap and trade and climate change, and talk now about the essentials: the war and money.”
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said health care legislation is at a critical stage and passing it is too important to the economy. The Senate is set to begin debate Monday on health care.
“I think we’re in the midst of probably the most significant debate and conclusion with legislation that we’ve ever had,” Reed said. “We have to go ahead and conclude this debate.”
During a national address Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Obama is expected to announce an increase of up to 35,000 in U.S. forces to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency, stabilize the Afghan government, and provide more training for Afghan security forces.
The bill for this expanded commitment is expected to be around $75 billion annually, raising concerns among the president’s Democratic allies that the higher costs will derail important domestic initiatives.
Reed said the increase in forces is necessary to blunt the Taliban and giving Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government the ability to follow through on commitments to stem corruption and protect the Afghan people.
“They made commitments left and right,” Reed said. “Now they have to carry those commitments through.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he also supports sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
“The whole world is watching what we’re doing there,” Graham said. “This is not just any place on the planet. This is the place where the Taliban took control after the Russians left, aligned themselves with al-Qaida and attacked this nation and killed 3,000 Americans.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he is concerned about the growing cost of the war and wants to see more international cooperation so the U.S. isn’t footing the bill on its own.
“I’ve got a real problem about expanding this war where the rest of the world is sitting around and saying, ’Isn’t it a nice thing that the taxpayers of the United States and the U.S. military are doing the work that the rest of the world should be doing?”’ Sanders said.
Lugar and Reed appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” while Graham and Sanders were on ABC’s “This Week.”
Local News
<font color="#ff0000"> Today's Talker </font> Sen. Richard Lugar: Delay health care to focus on Afghan war
Do you agree with Sen. Lugar that delaying the health reform debate until Afghanistan is resolved is a good idea? Tell us in the comments forum or at our Facebook page.
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Two teens die from shooting in Delaware County
Two teenagers died from wounds sustained in a shooting Thursday afternoon east of Afton.
-
Nixon fills spots on university governing boards
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed people to the governor boards for several universities.
-
Kansas House GOP issues tax plan
House Republican leaders are proposing a plan to cut Kansas income taxes, removing one key objection to an earlier proposal from Gov. Sam Brownback.
-
Proposed Kan. abortion ban blocked by abortion foe
An influential anti-abortion legislator is blocking the push for a ban on abortion in the Kansas Constitution, highlighting a split among abortion opponents over tactics and frustrating the group advocating the “personhood” proposal Friday.
-
Cold air headed this way
The Arctic front that passed over Missouri this morning will bring dangerously cold temperatures to the region tonight and Saturday.
-
Miami, Okla., man dies along I-44
A 27-year-old Miami, Okla., who appeared to be walking along I-44 in an attempt to get help after wrecking his car, is dead after being hit by a pickup truck.
-
Mike Pound: One man in America wants his robo call
I like to think I have pretty thick skin. If I didn’t, all the emails I get with the subject lines that read “Hey moron” would bother me. But they don’t, so I do.
-
Mo. presidential primary sets low mark in turnout
Just 8 percent of Missouri’s registered voters cast ballots in this week’s presidential primary.
-
Okla. court upholds man’s life sentence in deaths
An Oklahoma appeals court has upheld the life in prison sentences of a man convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the shotgun slayings of two men at a Sperry residence.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
