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WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the acquiescence of their leaders, key House Republicans are drafting Social Security legislation stripped of President Bush's proposed personal accounts financed with payroll taxes and lacking provisions aimed at assuring long-term solvency.
Instead the measure showcases a promise, designed to reassure seniors, that Social Security surplus funds will be held inviolate, available only to create individual accounts that differ sharply from Bush's approach.
In another development, Utah Senator Bob Bennett told Bush that he intends to introduce legislation omitting private investment accounts funded through Social Security payroll taxes.
He says Bush indicated that he should go forward and do that.
Bennett's bill also includes steps to place Social Security on a stronger financial footing. It would curtail promised benefits for middle- and upper-income wage earners of the future, while protecting benefits for those who made less money during their working lives.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
