A Democratic lawmaker has criticized President Bush's plan to revamp the U.S. retirement system known as Social Security.
House Representative Sander Levin, from the northern U.S. state of Michigan, says Mr. Bush's changes would dismantle the current retirement system and have severe consequences, including massive borrowing and benefit cuts.
Mr. Levin, in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address, said Mr. Bush's plan for private retirement savings accounts are a "roadblock" for bipartisan efforts to strengthen Social Security.
President Bush has said the current retirement system is running out of money, and that urgent action is needed to ensure the benefits will be in place for later generations.
The president also has promoted voluntary personal retirement accounts as a way to earn a higher rate of return than in the current system. Democrats have said those accounts are too risky.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
