(Washington, DC) -- Senators from both sides of the aisle are wrangling over whether to delay action on healthcare reform until decisions have been made about the war in Afghanistan.
Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana told CNN's "State of the Union" he was making an "audacious" suggestion that lawmakers defer action on healthcare debate until next year.
He said it's time to talk about "the essentials, the war and money." President Obama is expected to make a major announcement Tuesday about troop strength in Afghanistan.
Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said "absolutely not" to Lugar's notion of delaying action on healthcare.
Saying it's possible to go forward on both fronts simultaneously, Reed said to pull back on healthcare reform now would be "stopping on the edge" of significant reform.
(Copyright 2009 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)