Bush visit turns up heat on GOP privatization foe

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President Bush yesterday took his Social Security public relations tour to New Hampshire, into the heart of a district represented by a Republican who opposes the central aspect of his reforms.

New Hampshire's two Republican senators, Judd Gregg and John E. Sununu, are strong supporters of the president's plan, and Mr. Bush brought them along on Air Force One to help him sell his idea of incorporating private accounts for younger workers into Social Security.

"There's going to be a lot of discussion about how to fund these accounts," Mr. Bush said. "I look forward to working with Congress. I'm interested. I'm open-minded."

Absent, however, was Rep. Jeb Bradley, who during his 2002 campaign maintained that "privatization is not the answer" to reforming Social Security.

Mr. Bradley said yesterday that he did not attend the president's trip to his home district " a common perk for Republicans in the Bush presidency " because of floor votes in Washington. He would not have supported much of what Mr. Bush had to say anyway.

"In 2002 I opposed privatization, and I remain opposed to privatization," he said in an interview. "As I have said on numerous occasions, we must recognize the long-term problems facing the Social Security system, and through bipartisan discussion, determine the best ways to strengthen the system for future retirees."

Mr. Bradley is among the 29 Republican congressmen House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer claims oppose Mr. Bush's most cherished domestic reform.

"The president is running into a fierce head wind on Social Security privatization within his own party because he's asking Republicans to stick their necks out on a proposal that most experts agree only make the problem worse," Hoyer spokeswoman Stacey Farnen Bernards said.

Yesterday's campaign-style event marked the eighth state Mr. Bush has visited to plug his Social Security reforms since his inauguration. All the other stops were in states where the White House thinks it can pressure Democrats who are up for re-election next year. New Hampshire was the first aimed squarely at a Republican.

In a sign that Mr. Bush realizes he may have to compromise with Congress to get his way, the president told a New Hampshire newspaper yesterday that he is willing to consider raising the cap on the income subject to Social Security taxes.