Congress called upon for Social Security suggestions

WASHINGTON -- President Bush appealed to members of Congress to make suggestions of their own for changing Social Security on Thursday, and said they need not fear political retribution.\n"It used to be in the past people would step up and say, 'Well, here's an interesting idea,'" Bush said at a news conference at the White House. "Then they would take that idea and clobber the person politically." \nThe president, who has repeatedly called for bipartisanship on the volatile issue, said he won't do that.\n"What I'm saying to members of Congress is that, 'We have a problem, come together and let's fix it, and bring your ideas forward, and I'm willing to discuss them with you,'" Bush said in remarks that were quickly rejected by Democratic lawmakers, who say the president's plan would cut benefits. \nDemocrats want him to produce a complete proposal before they do.\n"He's not going to get us negotiating against ourselves," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.\nThe president made his comments as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave Bush's proposal for private accounts a modest endorsement Thursday.\n"These accounts properly constructed and managed will create a sense of increased wealth" on the part of middle and lower income workers, Greenspan said in an appearance before the House Banking Committee.\nGreenspan expressed fresh concerns about the costs of a transition and the impact on financial markets.\nHis worry: whether increased government borrowing would boost a variety of interest rates -- from mortgage rates for consumers to borrowing costs for everybody.\nThe Fed chief acknowledged that the private accounts by themselves don't solve Social Security's long-term financial problems.\nReid delivered his rejection at a news conference where Senate Democrats unveiled a Web site calculator designed to let workers compare their benefits under current law with what they calculated would be available under the president's plan.\n"The president's been making it seem to people that privatization makes you money. It loses you money," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.\n"No one will gain," added Reid.\nThe president's proposal would allow workers under age 55 to divert a chunk of their Social Security taxes into voluntary, private stock and bond investment accounts. The administration has estimated that transition costs for the next 10 years would be $754 billion.\nCritics contend the true costs would be in the trillions of dollars.\nCongressional Republicans have floated a variety of ideas since Bush called for personal accounts as part of a broader bill to increase the program's solvency and made Social Security legislation the top item on his legislative agenda, including some that have been at odds with his own suggestions.\nHouse Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, said he hopes Congress will step up to the plate to fix Social Security. "There will be some heavy lifting to get the system right, of course," Oxley said.\nDemocrats, by contrast, have consistently expressed opposition to the president's plans, labeling them an attempt to cut benefits to pay for privatization of the government benefit program.\nSome Democrats on the House panel, who believe Bush is trying to scare the public on the Social Security issue, wondered aloud why Greenspan didn't use the word "crisis" to describe the situation.\n"I have chosen not to use that word," Greenspan said. "I consider the problem a very serious one."\nBush conceded that nothing will happen "unless that Congress thinks there's a problem. ... Once the people say to Congress, 'There's a problem, fix it,' then I have a duty to say to members of Congress, `Bring forth your ideas.'"\nBush added: "And I clarified a variety of ideas that people should be encouraged to bring forward, without political retribution."\nBush is leaving open the possibility of raising taxes on those who earn more than $90,000 a year to help bolster Social Security's finances. Under the current system, payroll taxes are paid only on the first $90,000 in wages.