SENATOR SAYS CONGRESS SHOULD CUT WASTEFUL SPENDING TO HELP FUND WAR EFFORT

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham took some of his Congressional colleagues to task for using the War in Afghanistan to deflect away from out-of-control spending at home.

Graham’s remarks came after a claim by Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) on CNN that America’s trillion-dollar deficit was tied to the Afghanistan war.

“This whole idea of have we been spending enough, and the Afghan war is the problem to me is ridiculous,” Graham said. “We have been spending money on stimulus packages, growing the government in appropriation bills by double digits. The whole thing is a sham.”

Luger called for a “serious talk” about budgeting the war, but Graham said that Congress would be better off making cuts elsewhere.

“I’d like to have an endeavor to see if we can cut current spending and find some dollars that we’re spending today to pay for the war,” said Graham. “Are there things that we can do in the stimulus package, can we trim up the health care bill and other big ticket items to pay for a war that we can’t afford to lose?”

The Senate will begin debating that massive $1 trillion health care proposal this week.