Senator’s cuts plan could save US $9tn

ONE of the US Senate’s staunchest budget-cutters unveiled a massive plan to cut the nation’s deficit by $9 trillion (€6.4tn) over the coming decade.

The plan by Republican Oklahoma senator Tom Coburn is laced with politically perilous proposals like raising to 70 the age at which people can claim their full Social Security benefits.

It would cut farm subsidies, Medicare, student aid, housing subsidies for the poor, and funding for community development grants. Coburn even takes on the powerful veterans’ lobby by proposing that some veterans pay more for medical care and prescription drugs.