COLUMBIA - Stumping in South Carolina on Monday to remake Social Security with individual investment accounts, President Bush again warned that without quick action, the current system will be broke in 36 years.

He said college students graduating this spring could "spend their entire careers paying Social Security taxes only to see the system go bankrupt a few years before they retire."

But in his 35-minute speech to a joint assembly of the S.C. legislature, the president remained uncommitted on how he plans to pay for the estimated $2 trillion cost of his proposed makeover of the retirement system.

Instead, he said, "I believe I have a duty to ask people to bring ideas forward."

Bush named South Carolina's two U.S. senators, Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, and S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, as "leaders in the debate." The three Republicans have for years pushed the individual Social Security accounts that Bush wants.

Graham, in particular, has attracted attention in Washington by arguing that if Social Security is to be saved, Republicans must give up their opposition to raising payroll taxes on high-salaried wage earners, whose benefits would also be reduced.

It's an idea that hasn't sat well with many conservative activists; one group, the Club for Growth, has run TV ads in South Carolina attacking Graham. DeMint and Sanford have both resisted talking about any tax increases.

All three sat Monday among other dignitaries in chairs lined up against a side wall of the ornate S.C. House chamber, smiling broadly and enthusiastically applauding Bush's remarks.

Graham later issued a statement in which he said, "I anticipate and hope that after his 60-day tour of the nation the President will present more specific ideas to the nation."

State Rep. Doug Jennings, D-Marlboro, the former House Democratic leader, said he thinks Bush picked South Carolina as one of the states to visit on his cross-country publicity tour "to put some not-so-subtle pressure" on Graham and DeMint.

"I'm sure that's part of the inside baseball of all this, trying to somehow affect their ultimate decision," he said.

Also, Jennings said, "(Bush) is also in a very, very friendly audience here."

That was evident from the moment the president walked up the aisle to the speaker's podium at 12:15 p.m. S.C. lawmakers -- of whom 100 out of 170 are Republicans -- gave him repeated standing ovations, while GOP activists who filled the visitors' gallery let out loud whoops of support.

Besides South Carolina's two Republican U.S. senators, all four of the state's GOP U.S. House members traveled with Bush. Neither of the two S.C. Democratic members of Congress, Reps. John Spratt of York and Jim Clyburn of Columbia, attended.

While Spratt remained in Washington, Clyburn led about 60 people on a protest march through downtown Columbia. Clyburn said he is concerned that Bush's Social Security plan would hurt those with low incomes or on disability pay.

As he has done in his previous Social Security speeches, the president reassured older Americans that his proposals won't affect their current benefits. Meanwhile, he held out to younger workers the prospect of greater return on their payroll taxes than they are receiving now.

By voluntarily diverting up to a third of their Social Security taxes into what he called "a conservative mix of bonds and stocks," Bush said that workers under 55 could "tap into the power of compound interest" to build personal nest eggs.

No such thing exists now under Social Security, he said.

"There's no vault holding your cash waiting for you to retire," the president said. "Instead, because we spend Social Security taxes on current retirees and other government programs, all that is left over ... is a bunch of filing cabinets with IOU's in them."

The Bush Visit

• Bush said it was the first time he had addressed a state legislature since he was governor of Texas.

• Elsewhere on his Social Security tour that began early last month, Bush has drawn large crowds to campaign-style events. But his only S.C. stop on Monday was the heavily secured State House, where only lawmakers, invited guests and news media were allowed in.

• Bush's visit Monday marked the eighth time since his first inauguration in January 2001 that he has visited South Carolina. The state restored momentum to his presidential candidacy in 2000 with a key Republican primary victory over Sen. John McCain.