WASHINGTON, April 7 (UPI) -- A Democratic U.S. congressman has asked a federal agency to determine how much President Bush's two-month push for Social Security reform will cost.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller General David Walker to give the costs of the Social Security reform push and also determine whether Bush "has crossed the line from education to propaganda," The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The Bush administration is 35 days into a "60 Stops in 60 Days" program to boost its ideas for changes in Social Security, an issue Bush has made a centerpiece of the early part of his second term.
The program extends well past the president. Vice President Dick Cheney and Treasury Secretary John Snow, as well as many lower-level government officials, have been involved in a wide range of events. The Treasury Department hired four full-time workers to help coordinate the program, the Times said.
There has been no official estimate of the cost of the program. The newspaper said Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee have asked the administration for such an accounting.
