CEDAR RAPIDS — President Bush continued efforts to drum up support for his Social Security reform plan during a stop Wednesday at Kirkwood Community College. The tour spans 60 cities in 29 states in just 60 days, and Wednesday resembled the election-year events seen across Iowa last year.

With more than 1,000 people in attendance, Bush said his plan to “modernize” Social Security would bring three benefits: better returns from market investments, giving citizens control over their own money and taking advantage of a plan mirrored after one offered to federal employees.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the president.

“The president and I are like a builder and an architect — we agree on a blueprint,” Grassley said. “Doing nothing is not an option.”

Grassley said the plans that emerged from former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal are good for people of his generation, but they could be a “raw deal” for future ones. The president’s plan aims to provide citizens with the option of investing 4 percent of their Social Security money in pre-determined investment options.

Bush said the large disparity between monetary returns from Social Security and returns from market investment was one issue facing Iowans. He said citizens get a 1.8 percent return from money that goes to Social Security, whereas return rates from other investments can reliably be more than 6 percent.

“That’s the power of compounding interest,” Bush said.

Bush also touted his plan as a way to put people back in control of part of their retirement funds.

“It’s your money to begin with,” he said. “I like the idea of encouraging more people to become investors.”

Critics of the plan say Social Security should be a guarantee to citizens young and old, and that private accounts are a gamble.

Bush said it is important for people to know that everyone is capable of investing money effectively, and because there is a “prescribed group of investments” to choose from, it is less risky.

He also said his plan is similar to options available for federal employees.

“If it’s good enough for federal employees, it’s good enough for our workers,” Bush said.

Bush’s program, the Thrift Savings Plan, works similar to the private sector’s 401(k) plans.

Bush and Grassley said as people become aware of the problems facing Social Security, they will see the need for immediate action.

“Your government has made promises it cannot keep,” Bush said. “Now is the time to solve this problem.”

Although Bush recognized the need to remedy the problems facing Social Security, he admitted his plan is not the final solution.

He said his plan would not fix the hole in America’s “safety net,” but it makes Social Security function better.

AARP, which offers membership benefits to people 50 years old or older, has stood against Bush’s plan because it fears Social Security benefits will be reduced.

Bush fired back, saying AARP’s objection was propaganda.

“It’s important to reassure those who receive a check that nothing changes,” he said.

He said his plan would have no effect on people born before 1950, but there is a possibility of benefit reduction for others.

“I can’t tell you how much until we get people to the table,” Bush said.

A report released recently by the Social Security Trustees estimates Social Security will be paying out more money than it receives as early as 2016, two years earlier than previous estimates. If this trend continues, it is estimated that the federal program would be bankrupt by 2042.

In 1950, there were 16 workers paying into the program for every person taking out of it. Now, the ratio is 3.3 to 1.

Bush said the expansion of benefits has also led to the program’s financial instability.

One-third of Americans older than 65 rely on Social Security as 90 percent of their total income.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, an outspoken critic of the plan, said he and 40 other Democrats in the Senate could block the legislation, which needs 60 votes to move forward.