Bush touts the benefits of recasting Social Security

WASHINGTON -- President Bush used his appearance at a White House economic summit yesterday to push anew for his plan to overhaul Social Security with private investments but provided no new details of his plan.

Meanwhile, his press secretary, Scott McClellan, told reporters that "today's guaranteed benefits are an empty promise to our younger workers," but he declined to answer questions about whether Bush's plan would cut benefits.

The combination of the stark portrayal about Social Security's future with a lack of specifics about Bush's overhaul plan set the stage for a drawn-out battle in Congress over how to avoid a shortfall that Bush estimated at $10 trillion if the system is not changed. McClellan said Bush is withholding support for any plan until he hears from members of Congress, but Democrats have protested that they have not been invited to negotiations or to the White House conference where Bush spoke.

Bush, who did not take questions from reporters, said Social Security is in "serious danger" because by 2018, it is projected to begin paying out more money than it will be taking in.

Speaking of private investment accounts, Bush said, "This is an issue on which I campaigned, and I'm still standing." He was referring to the political damage that past candidates sustained for taking positions that seniors thought threatened Social Security.

McClellan, pressed by reporters about why Bush has not laid out a specific proposal, said the president wants to talk with members of Congress. "We have not endorsed a specific proposal at this point. That's something we want to work closely with members of Congress on as we move forward," McClellan said.

McClellan, asked to cite a "tough choice" that Bush might make on Social Security, declined to respond directly. "The president has talked about the challenges that we face regarding Social Security and the need to move forward together to address it," McClellan said.

Bush said he thinks younger workers "don't believe they're going to get a check at all. . . . there's millions of people wondering whether or not the government has the courage to do something to make sure a younger generation will have viable retirement system available when they retire. And that's how I see the issue."

Democratic leaders, who were not invited to the economic conference, have said in a series of news conferences this week that Bush is exaggerating the scope of Social Security's problems in an effort to gain support for private investment accounts.

Senator Jon S. Corzine, a New Jersey Democrat and former chairman of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, derided the conference as "an infomercial for trying to privatizing Social Security," which he called "a huge mistake in protecting our seniors."

John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said at a news conference that Bush's plan would "jeopardize the retirement security of millions of working families," while he acknowledged that "efforts to strengthen Social Security are urgently needed."

At one point, Bush joked he was willing to work with Congress on a plan to overhaul Social Security as long as the House and Senate went along with a list of principles, including no increase in the payroll tax and the establishment of the private accounts. "With those principles in mind, I'm open-minded with the members of Congress," Bush said, chuckling along with a supportive audience of several hundred people at Washington's Ronald Reagan Building.

Although Bush's Social Security commission gave him three main recommendations in 2001 on how to fix the system, Bush has not said which alternative, if any, he would support. The main plan put forward by that commission would cut future promised benefits for younger workers in exchange for allowing private investment accounts.

McClellan suggested Bush would follow the commission's direction without explicitly endorsing one of its proposals. "That bipartisan commission put forward some innovative ideas to solve this problem," McClellan said. "The president said that should be a guide for us moving forward."

Richard Parsons, who cochaired the commission and is the chief executive officer of Time Warner, appeared on the panel with Bush and offered perhaps the most blunt assessment of the problem. "We're on a train wreck course," Parsons said. "You can't fix this problem with no pain, without making some sacrifices, but the time to start making those sacrifices is now."

Bush spoke immediately after Parsons but did not say whether he agreed that sacrifice was necessary.

An analysis by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which supports private accounts, says moving to such a system would result in a 6 percent cut in future promised benefits. That assumes Social Security benefits are based on inflation instead of on wages. Bush has not said whether he favors such a change.