Bush again urges Social Security overhaul

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Five years after delivering a major campaign address here about the need to revamp Social Security, President Bush returned on Monday with a similar message, urging an overhaul of the retirement system as he celebrated changes to Medicare that will take effect at the beginning of next year.

In a speech at the James L. Brulte Senior Center here, Bush began laying the groundwork for a return to domestic issues when Congress reconvenes next week.

"I haven't changed my mind since I came here to talk about Social Security," Bush said. In a nod to the political hurdles that have stalled his proposed changes to Social Security and to predictions that he may have to jettison his plans for individual retirement accounts altogether, Bush added, "I'm going to keep working this issue."

Bush's efforts to shift attention to domestic policy come after weeks of public focus on the war in Iraq. On Monday, protesters gathered outside his two events, in Arizona and California, echoing the demonstrations near his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

At his Arizona appearance, Bush touched briefly on the situation in Iraq, saying he was "very optimistic" about progress now that a draft constitution was heading toward a nationwide referendum. He then moved swiftly back to Medicare, emphasizing the need for a public education program and encouraging older people and their relatives to sign up for the drug program. Bush described this as the "preselling phase" before Oct. 15, when seniors can begin enrolling for the drug benefit program that takes effect at the beginning of 2006. Some experts have expressed concern that the program will seem too different or confusing for current Medicare participants to join.

In his California remarks, the president said, "I fully understand a lot of people don't want to change. In other words, people who are on Medicare saying, 'Just leave me alone. I'm not interested.' And if that's the way you feel, that's just fine. This is a voluntary program." But for those who want to take part in the new prescription drug program, he said, "There's a menu of opportunity available to you.

"This is a good deal, and therefore you need to follow through on it," Bush said.