As debt limit negotiations entered their last two weeks, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma revealed a budget plan that would cut $9 trillion over ten years.
The proposal goes far beyond the ambitious package of $4 trillion that President Obama has had difficulty getting congressional leaders to sign on to.
Over ten years, Coburn’s plan would cut $1 trillion in defense spending, create $2.6 trillion in deficit savings through cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, reform the tax code by closing loopholes, including eliminating ethanol subsidies, to save $1 trillion and overhaul Social Security.
The Social Security provision would, among other things, raise the level of retirement by one month every two years starting in 2022.
Though Coburn acknowledged his plan would face significant hurdles in the House and Senate, he said it contains ideas lawmakers can pick and choose from. It offers a menu of spending cuts and tax reforms that others can incorporate into their own proposals.
But Coburn also added that criticism of the broad proposal is not “legitimate” when given with no counteroffer. (Republican senator takes on the ‘Adult Baby’)
“I have no doubt that both parties will criticize this plan, and I welcome that debate,” the senator said Monday. “But it’s not a legitimate criticism until you have a plan of your own.”