AP The Progressive Caucus released a budget proposal this week which would stop the upcoming sequester, and replace the austerity cuts by closing unpopular loopholes and making targeted reductions to the budget.

While the plan has literally no chance of passage in Congress, it does provide a good outline of how far rank-and-file Democrats are willing to go to reduce the deficit.

Below are some of the most significant proposals in the plan, which together would cut deficits by $1.08 trillion over ten years:

Smokestack in Aberdeen, WA Flickr | Curtis Gregory Perry End subsidies to fossil fuel companies

This proposal would save $94 billion by ending subsidies, financial assistance and preferential tax treatment for oil, gas and coal producers. According to the Progressive Caucus budget, this policy is based on the argument that "the fossil fuel industries are among the most profitable on earth" and yet some pay zero federal income taxes.

Shutdown expensive and often unpopular loopholes

The Progressive Caucus targets five loopholes in particular, which it claims could bring in $278 billion over 10 years.

The $17 billion carried interest loophole, which allows hedge fund managers and other investors to count certain types of compensation as investment income rather than ordinary income.

A $4 billion loophole that gives private jet owners special tax depreciation benefits and allows yacht owners to decrease income tax bills by claiming the vessel as a second home.

The U.S. could make $161 billion by closing a loophole that allows offshore profit shifting, and $71 billion by closing the foreign-earned income loophole, which allows Americans couples working abroad to avoid U.S. federal taxes on the first $190,200 of income.

The proposal would also close the $25 billion "Facebook Loophole," which allows companies to deduct stock options cashed in by an employee at an inflated current market value rather than the original cost.