DES MOINES -- A coalition of Iowa groups blasted President George W. Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security Tuesday, seeking to drum up opposition prior to Bush's appearance today in Cedar Rapids to promote the plan.

"President Bush and the anti-Social Security forces want to replace Social Security with a privatization scheme that is a bad deal for America," said Lisa Davis-Cook, co-director of the Iowa Citizen Action Network.

Bush wants to allow younger workers to place a small portion of their Social Security money in private accounts.

Critics of this plan say it would cause the national debt to skyrocket, while doing nothing to preserve the financial health of the program.

"Private accounts don't add a single day to the life of Social Security," Davis-Cook said.

She cited a report from the liberal-leaning Institute for America's Future showing than an average Iowa 20-year-old would lose $152,000 in lifetime benefits under the Bush plan.

Jan Corderman, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61, the state's largest union representing government employees, said the Bush plan hurts all aspects of Social Security, including disability and death benefits.

"The president's plan would have a devastating impact on the economic security of American families," she said.

Ray Hoffman, chairman of the Iowa GOP, released a statement praising Bush's approach.

"Unfortunately, a system which once relied on 16 workers for every one beneficiary in 1950, now relies on just over three. The president's proactive efforts to deal with the demographic shift will save the next generation from inheriting an unsustainable system," he said.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the committee that would approve changes to Social Security, said last week that the odds are against the Bush plan getting approved by Congress.

Dan Gearino can be reached at 515-243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net