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Sen. Tom Coburn's 'Menu' for Saving

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    Lawmaker outlines plan for spending cuts

  • Duration 2:36
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At a time when President Obama and lawmakers of both parties are struggling to find spending cuts of two -- four trillion dollars.

One Republican is offering his colleagues a menu of options for more ambitious savings chief -- correspondent Jim Angle has the story.

Republican senator Tom Coburn is unveiling a plan to reduce deficit spending by -- nine trillion dollars shrink government by some 20% and balance the budget all within ten years it's specific.

It's detail.

It -- hard choices.

And it's rough.

But it's necessary.

Coburn questioned all the agonizing over the search for much smaller savings of only two trillion dollars two trillion -- -- -- interest over the next ten years.

That's with no increase in endorsements -- -- 600 page report lays out hundreds of spending cuts from every nook and cranny of the federal government he -- about a trillion from the Pentagon another trillion from discretionary spending and 500 billion more from a range of federal agencies were cutting fat not muscle or bone.

We can easily take several inches from our waistline Coburn also wades into the tax code eliminating deductions worth almost a trillion dollars which brought criticism from Grover Norquist of the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform.

Criticism Coburn anticipated.

People who call this a tax increase or defending earmarks for ethanol tax earmarked for -- the producers.

Stimulus tax breaks tax breaks for ethanol for eskimo whaling captains.

And deductions from vacation homes.

He eliminate the deduction for vacation homes and phase out deductions for mortgage interest on homes costing more than 500000 dollars.

He also takes -- -- right for all sorts of projects everything from auto racetracks to hockey Arenas to movie theaters.

Colbert Report notes some tax deductions are downright ridiculous such as an exotic dancer riding all breast enhancement as a business expense.

He'd reduce or eliminate many tax deductions but not raise tax rates the ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases is seven and a half to one.

The senator has no expectation this plan will be adopted as he is but does say it offers a menu -- well -- places to cut.

I hope people pick out things of this the fact he is is it's a treasure trove of how to solve our -- country's problems.

Whether the president under other lawmakers see it that way is another question but -- offering more spending cuts than anyone else proposed and some revenues on which Democrats have insisted.

Where there could break the logjam isn't clear but he is over -- -- broader range of -- than they had before them.

-- more on this for the panel Jim thank you.

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