President Obama and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle say they support budget cuts. That’s good. The federal budget certainly needs cutting, and the Republicans are suggesting large cuts, while the Democrats want small cuts.

The problem is, the cuts are focused only on discretionary spending, a very small part of the budget. When entitlement programs, interest payments on debt, and military spending are excluded, only about one-seventh of the budget remains. So even big cuts don’t make much of a dent on deficit spending.

And, unfortunately, no one, not Republicans, not Democrats, are making bold proposals to rein in entitlements, the biggest part of the budget. So while members of Utah’s congressional delegation all, even Democrat Jim Matheson, talk like budget hawks, they are really budget sparrows, not proposing specific action to make a real impact.

Sure, they all say that entitlement programs need to be addressed. But they aren’t making meaningful proposals. They’re all waiting for someone else to act.

I would love to see Sen. Mike Lee tell us how he would specifically cut entitlements. Ditto for Sen. Orrin Hatch, and Reps. Rob Bishop, Jim Matheson and Jason Chaffetz.

If they’re really serious about getting the budget under control, how do they propose to reform Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? I’d like to see specific proposals, with numbers.

Ironically, former Sen. Bob Bennett, who was defeated because many delegates thought he was too liberal, did propose a realistic plan to reduce Social Security obligations. He put his plan out there for everyone to see. How about Utah’s current congressional delegation? Can they show as much courage and resolve to really cut the budget as Bennett did?