DeLay: Soc. Sec. action not likely soon

AP Newswire - DeLay: Soc. Sec. action not likely soon: "Congress will not move on President Bush's desire to overhaul Social Security before this fall, key Republican leaders said Thursday.

'There are additional ideas relating to retirement savings building support within this House,' House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas said just minutes after the chamber recessed for the week. 'I expect that the House will focus on these issues in the fall.'

The announcement came several hours after senators cut short a planned Social Security strategy session, filing out of a Capitol meeting room for a series of votes without an agreement to return or when to meet again.

'There are competing demands for the time of senators and House members, so work will probably continue well after the August recess,' said a statement issued afterward by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Finance Committee.

He added: 'I won't give up trying to bridge the divide. The sooner we act, the better the choices we have to secure Social Security.'"