WASHINGTON — The Bush administration announced Wednesday a 60-day, 60-stop barnstorming tour to promote the president's plan for overhauling Social Security, as Republican lawmakers and their allies bickered over how to win Democratic and public support for the president's initiative without gutting it.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the committee that would write a Social Security bill, suggested Wednesday that it might be better to take private accounts -- the centerpiece of Bush's plan -- off the table for the time being to open the door to talks with Democrats about a possible compromise on shoring up the finances of the retirement system.
Saying that private accounts were not the cure-all for solving the long-term financial problems facing Social Security, Grassley said: "Maybe we ought to focus on solvency and bring people to the table just over what do you do for the solvency."
Treasury Secretary John W. Snow appeared to be open to alternatives to Bush's proposal for private accounts. Asked if the administration would consider a plan that did not include the accounts, he told reporters: "Everything is on the table."
The comments came as Republicans sought a way to build momentum for Bush's plan, which has failed to win an endorsement from any prominent Democratic lawmaker and is losing support in some public opinion surveys, despite weeks of public campaigning by the president.
Many Republican lawmakers who used last week's recess to talk about Social Security with constituents reported hearing opposition or only tepid support for Bush's plan.
In a possible boost for the president, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress on Wednesday to move quickly to shore up Social Security's likely long-term financing gap. That gap is expected because of the coming wave of baby boom retirees and is estimated to reach $3.7 trillion over 75 years.
"I fear that we may have already committed more physical resources to the baby boom generation in its retirement years than our economy has the capacity to deliver," Greenspan told the House Budget Committee. "If existing promises need to be changed, those changes should be made sooner rather than later."
Bush has also sought to build a sense of urgency around the need to restructure Social Security. Under his proposal, workers would be allowed to divert a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into private stock and bond accounts, which the president says would allow them to earn more in retirement than the current system can offer.
