Bush Urges Cooperation on Social Security

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- President Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security has triggered partisan debate in Congress, but he pleaded Tuesday for Republicans and Democrats to come together to address the system's solvency, USA TODAY reported.

“In order to solve this problem, it's not going to be a Republican idea or a Democrat idea, it's going to be an American idea brought forth by both either Republicans or Democrats, or both,” Bush said here.

It was the final stop of a two-day, three-state trip promoting his proposal to allow workers born after 1949 to divert part of their withholding taxes into government-run funds that invest in stocks and bonds.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was traveling with Bush, chided AARP, the nation's largest seniors group, for opposing personal retirement accounts.

“I want to say to our friends in AARP, and they are my friends in AARP, ‘Come to the table with us,' ” McCain said. “We not only have an obligation to seniors, but we have an obligation to future generations of Americans as well.”

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 3/23/05