Social Security Campaign Costs Tallied

"We did not incorporate any changes based upon this comment as GAO does not believe such a distinction is warranted"


The Bush administration spent at least $2.8 million traveling around the country promoting its plan to let many people divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into private retirement accounts, congressional investigators said Friday.

The Government Accountability Office, acting on a request from Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., counted 228 different Social Security reform public speaking events by Bush administration officials in 2005. The departments participating ranged from the Labor Department to the Commerce Department to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.