On Monday, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., released a deficit reduction plan that would save $9 trillion during the next 10 years.

His plan easily qualifies as the most ambitious of all deficit-reduction plans being discussed, but it’s sad none of our politicians are actively discussing its content with Americans or each other.

There’s a lot in Coburn’s plan not to like. The cuts to social security, Medicare and Medicaid are painful. Medicare and Medicaid would lose $2.6 trillion by shifting costs from the government to the people, according to Politico.

For OU students, the big news about this plan is it seeks to end most federal student loans. Last year alone, 15 million college students took advantage of loan programs that this plan would cut, according to ThinkProgress.org.

Cutting from education, as we have argued in the past, is its own financial burden. Poor education in the U.S. creates a deficit much more difficult to fix than the one we’re dealing with now.

That said, there is a lot to like about this plan. It proposes to cut $1 trillion from the Pentagon and will raise a trillion more by cutting corporate tax loopholes such as ethanol subsidies.

Both these moves deserve a great deal of praise, especially coming from a politician with such strong conservative credentials.

But Coburn’s plan will not pass. The cuts to military spending and corporate tax loopholes won’t be supported by most Republicans, and the cuts to welfare programs won’t be supported by most Democrats. But it does have the potential to change the conversation about reducing the deficit.

We need to start asking whether we can afford our foreign policies, and Republicans need to realize tax increases are a necessary and fair part of any deficit-reduction plan.

Coburn’s plan makes meaningful contributions to both of those ends. Pointing out the potential savings that can be gained by cutting military spending will hopefully start an overdue conversation about whether we can afford to be dropping bombs in six different countries at the same time (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Libya).

Coburn’s proposed tax revenue, on the other hand, gives conservative Republicans cover to allow more revenue to be collected through taxes.

Coburn has acknowledged his plan can’t be passed. It’s sad our political climate allows a politician to work hard to enrich the debate on deficit reduction only to know ahead of time all his efforts won’t even be discussed.

We applaud Coburn’s willingness to take on the tough topics of defense spending and corporate tax breaks. He also deserves credit for being willing to cross party lines. Washington could use more of that kind of attitude.