Whatever the final version, it will certainly be the focus of intense partisan debate.

Democratic leadership has already drawn a line in the sand, saying there is no short-term Social Security crisis and that the issue was manufactured by Bush as a way to dismantle a program near and dear to the hearts of Democrats dating back to the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.

"Social Security is a remarkably successful program," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "It's a promise of retirement safety for seniors and financial security for all our families in case of death or disability."

Reid and other Democrats admit there are long-term challenges with Social Security that need to be addressed. But they say the program is sound for the next 50 years, and they oppose Bush's plan for private retirement accounts.

"Eventually, the baby boom generation will put pressure on the program, and I want to find solutions," Reid said. "The right solutions that will not cut benefits or add trillions and trillions of dollars in debt as the president has suggested."

Reid said lawmakers should consider modernizing the complex system of retirement savings and developing new tax-free ways to help and encourage middle-class families to save.

Bennett sees a window of opportunity this year to actually reform Social Security, but lawmakers must act quickly. Next year, they will gear up for congressional elections, and few Republicans are going to want a hot-button issue like that hanging over their heads while Democrats will be less inclined to cooperate.

And by the following year, the presidential campaign kicks off and Bush is officially declared a lame duck.

"I hope, but I will not predict, we will see legislation this year," he said.

But no Social Security reform legislation has yet been drafted, and Bennett said he won't draft his own — it may not even be his bill in the end — until there is basic agreement on the principles. And that includes agreement from centrist Democrats, he said.

"Not all Democrats are saying there is no problem," he said. "A number of them on the liberal side even agree there is a problem."

But will they actually vote to fix it? Bennett says the harsh realities of demographics will make it unavoidable. The baby boom generation starts retiring in 2008, and that trend will continue and even accelerate through 2048. And the percentage of Americans over age 65 is going to double.

"Demographics are our destiny," he said. "Those facts aren't going to change."

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E-mail: spang@desnews.com