July 20th, 2011 
admin Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn on Monday afternoon announced the most ambitious plan yet for reducing the federal deficit. He said the plan would reduce the current $14 trillion deficit by $9 trillion over the next decade.
“It’s rough, but it’s necessary,” Coburn said during a press conference in Washington, D.C.
Coburn announced his plan amid frenzied negotiations between Congress and the Obama administration to decide by Aug. 2 whether to raise the nation’s debt ceiling over $14.3 trillion. Without a higher debt limit, the United States would default on its debts for the first time in history.
However, a higher debt ceiling also means more of the federal budget must be dedicated to paying off interest on the debt without direct benefit to Americans.
Coburn’s plan for reducing the deficit relies heavily on tax cuts, reductions in Defense Department spending and limits on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It would reduce the size of the federal government by about 20 percent.
Coburn acknowledged the drastic changes in the budget he proposes are likely to make his plan unpopular among Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans.
“Nobody’s going to like what we’ve done because everybody gets a pinch,” he said.
The biggest single cut would be for the Defense Department, which would lose $1 trillion in funding over 10 years.
Such a large budget reduction would require making the military more efficient, but still leave it strong enough to defend the United States from potential enemies, Coburn said.
“We’re cutting fat, not meat or bone,” he said.
With the federal government nearly at a standstill as Congress seeks a way to avoid defaulting on the budget, Coburn says the tough choices mapped out in his plan are unavoidable.
Other parts of his plan propose raising tax revenue by $1 trillion by ending individual tax preferences and eliminating nearly $2 trillion in non-defense appropriations. Coburn said about $1 trillion would be saved in interest payments, much of which otherwise would go to China.
He has said he does not expect his budget proposal to win final approval in Congress, but it does give lawmakers additional options as they try to avoid a financial catastrophe.
“It’s time to show the American people not only what is possible, but what’s necessary,” Coburn said.
Coburn was one of six senators, known as the “Gang of Six,” working on a bipartisan budget proposal to reduce the deficit this year. He walked away from the negotiations in May to begin work on his own plan, which he calls “Back in the Black.”
His plan is one of several by Republicans that calls for deeper budget cuts than the $4 trillion proposed by President Obama.
A White House statement Monday showed Obama appears unwilling to make large concessions to the Republicans.
He threatened to veto the Republican majority’s plan for raising the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion but capping government spending at 18 percent of the nation’s economic output.
The Republican plan would cut federal spending by about $111 billion is fiscal 2012.
The White House statement called the plan “inconsistent with [a] responsible framework to restore fiscal responsibility.”
The Republican “cut, cap and balance” plan “sets out a false and unacceptable choice between the federal government defaulting on its obligations now or, alternatively, passing a balanced budget amendment that, in the years ahead, will likely leave the nation unable to meet its core commitment of ensuring dignity in retirement,” the White House statement said.
The Republican plan is set for a vote in the House on Tuesday.
House Speaker John Boehner issued a statement Monday saying, “It’s disappointing the White House would reject this common-sense plan to rein in the debt and deficits that are hurting job creation in America. While American families have to set priorities and balance their books, this White House obviously isn’t serious about making the same tough choices. While the House is once again acting responsibly, the administration still won’t say what cuts it’s willing to make to end Washington’s spending binge and the economic uncertainty it’s creating.”
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