White House balks at submitting Social Security plan
The White House has told lawmakers it has no immediate plans to submit its own detailed proposal to Congress for overhauling Social Security, sources briefed by the administration said on Tuesday. President George W. Bush has made adding private retirement accounts to the Social Security system his top domestic priority. The proposal has run into opposition from Democrats and some of Bush's fellow Republicans. Bush bases his call for a broad overhaul of the 70-year-old Social Security program on his contention it is headed into a financial crisis, a characterization Democrats, and many in his own Republican Party, say exaggerates the problem. Republican and Democratic congressional aides said the White House made clear in briefings this week it would not submit a legislative proposal, at least not for the time being. Instead, the White House will try to coordinate efforts with lawmakers crafting their own proposals. A senior Bush administration official said no final decision had been made. "If there comes a point when the president needs to spell out specific legislation, he won't hesitate," the official said. A Democratic congressional aide said the White House was "backsliding" in the face of stiffer-than-expected opposition. [more]