Hoyer calls for TV spots by Perot

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As Democrats prepare for their fight against President Bush's proposal to privatize Social Security accounts, House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer wants former presidential candidate Ross Perot to return to the airwaves with his 30-minute infomercials blasting government deficits.

Mr. Bush has spent the past several weeks traveling across the country pushing his proposal to let younger workers invest part of their Social Security contributions in private accounts, and now Democrats are having their turn, holding 235 Social Security town hall meetings in coming weeks to warn people that the idea is risky and unnecessary, will undermine Social Security, cut benefits, increase the deficit and harm the economy.

The Maryland Democrat pushed these arguments yesterday at the College of Southern Maryland in La Plata.

"I believe this administration is pursuing the most irresponsible fiscal policies of any administration," Mr. Hoyer said.

Mr. Hoyer told the audience that the president took the country from surpluses to deficits and that his new private account idea will only add to the problem.

Mr. Hoyer said he asked Mr. Perot in a conversation last year to return to television with infomercials similar to the ones he did in the early 1990s, preaching of the dangers of deficits.

"In his down-home way, I think he'd convey what I think is the real crisis," Mr. Hoyer said, referring to the president's fiscal policies.

Mr. Hoyer spoke to a gathering of about 100 people yesterday about the importance of preserving Social Security as a national insurance program -- not only for retirees, but for 6 million disabled people, 5 million widows and 4 million children.

The system faces challenges that must be addressed, he said, but it does not face the bleak future that the president and Republicans describe.

"There are long-term issues that need to be addressed, but the [Social Security] trust fund is strong," he said.