Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is negotiating with members of both parties to find a way to keep Social Security afloat without cutting benefits or raising the retirement age. After a one-on-one meeting last week with President Bush on the subject, Grassley says he’s working with the administration and other members of Congress to find a solution that’ll succeed. Grassley, a republican, says he can’t yet reveal details of his proposal. Grassley says “If I do, it’s kinda’ like showing your hand too early. It’s a negotiating process and I think we need to just reserve judgment on almost every aspect of it. Tax increase or no tax increase. Private accounts or no private accounts.” President Bush hosts a forum at the White House today on Social Security. It will include people from several generations talking about troubles in the system. Grassley says there’s no easy fix. Grassley says “There’s just dozens of moving parts and it’s not so much what you’re for or against but how does doing something over here effect something someplace else in the equation.” Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, says he’s treading carefully in the Social Security reform negotiations. Grassley calls it the “most politically-sensitive issue we can deal with ever” and he’s trying to remain flexible. President Bush says Social Security will go broke by the time Baby Boomers retire, but critics says it should stay afloat well into the middle of this century and they accuse Bush of exaggerating the problems.
