Bush's visit to state will have impact, Graham says

e-mail this story

That's because both of the state's senators have their own Social Security reform proposals, and the state's residents are open to changing the system, Graham said.

"I think this visit by the president will be a significant moment in the Social Security debate," said Graham, the state's senior Republican senator. "And what he says in South Carolina will be closely watched."

But U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, a Columbia Democrat, doesn't believe the president's visit will sway any votes in Congress or change opposition to the plan.

"I don't think his coming here is going to change anything," he said. "I think it will once again call attention to the fact that the president is out of touch with reality when it comes to ordinary working people and what they have to contend with."

Bush is scheduled to arrive Monday at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport and will go directly to the Statehouse for his speech, according to the White House.

The public isn't expected to have any opportunity to see the president in person, other than his walk from the plane to a waiting motorcade.

ETV and WYFF Channel 4 will broadcast the speech beginning at about noon.

Bush's visit is part of a 60-stop nationwide tour aimed at promoting his proposal to create individual investment accounts for younger workers paying into the Social Security system.

Congressional Democrats, who oppose the investment accounts idea because they say it would require $1 trillion in borrowed money, have assailed the tour as costly. But Bush is expected to receive a warm welcome when he addresses the Republican-majority South Carolina Legislature, House Speaker David Wilkins of Greenville said.

"South Carolina is Bush country," Wilkins said. "Certainly a majority of the majority party in South Carolina agrees with him. It's a forum for the president to express his views on a very important topic. I think what's important is that he chose South Carolina to do that when he could choose any state."

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of Greenville described Bush's visit as a "sales call" on a friendly state with many retirees and other Social Security beneficiaries.

"It's real important, I think, that he come to one of his home states basically and explain his program," he said.

Bush and congressional Republicans have said the Social Security system is in dire need of reform. The system will begin paying out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes in 2017 and may go broke as soon as 2041 if no changes are made, according to a recent report by the system's trustees.

The chief battleground for Bush's plan is the U.S. Senate, where Democrats have vowed unified opposition. Though Republicans hold the majority of seats in the Senate, they need at least five Democrats' help in bringing any issue to a vote.

Graham said Senate Democrats are only united against the idea of borrowing to fund the individual accounts. He said his plan would raise revenue to fund the plan by increasing the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes, currently $90,000.

He said he also plans to offer a plan to restructure benefits to slow the growth of payments to middle- and upper-income workers.

Demint's plan would create investment accounts for every worker, with varied account sizes depending on their income. Workers would be guaranteed a minimum of what is promised by the current system, he said. Creating the accounts would be paid for, he said, by capping the growth of government spending.

Clyburn, however, doesn't believe any crisis exists. He said Americans oppose Bush's plan but the president is touring the nation anyway hoping to change minds.

"He's being stubborn," Clyburn said. "I think he's long since realized that the American people get it. They know what this is, and they don't like it."

Clyburn said he plans to attend a rally opposing Bush's plan Monday morning in Columbia and later conduct a "teach-in" at Allen University to educate youths about the issue.

South Carolinians depend heavily on Social Security, according to the AARP. One in six South Carolinians received Social Security in 2003 for a total of $7.1 billion in payments, the organization says.

The South Carolina AARP, which represents 473,000 people and opposes Bush's plan, is one of several groups planning events around Bush's visit.

One group, South Carolina United to Protect Social Security, is organizing a petition drive this weekend to oppose Bush's plan. Another group, Generations Together, plans to gather at the Statehouse to support Bush's plan.