WASHINGTON

BUSH DEFENDS HIS SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN

President Bush held a 48-minute news conference at the White House yesterday in which he defended his Social Security plan against growing doubts, expressed concern over high energy prices, and reasserted his support for the death penalty and his opposition to gay marriages. It was Mr. Bush’s fifth news conference since his November re-election.

Mr. Bush opened the news conference saying he was making progress on Social Security, although polls show growing opposition to his idea to overhaul the system by allowing younger workers to put some of their payroll taxes into private saving accounts. His formula would result in a reduction in guaranteed Social Security benefits.

Mr. Bush acknowledged that the private accounts would not solve Social Security’s insolvency problem, and he refused anew to reveal how he would like to fix the system. Told that Democrats want him to spell out his proposal, Mr. Bush said, “I’m sure they do. The first bill on the Hill always is dead on arrival. I’m interested in coming up with a permanent solution. I’m not interested in playing political games.”

Mr. Bush yesterday also named Kevin Martin, a member of the Federal Communications Commission, to head the agency that has recently gained notoriety for clamping down on indecency in broadcasting.

Mr. Martin, who has been an FCC commissioner since 2001, replaces Michael Powell as chairman. Mr. Powell, son of former Secretary of State Powell, announced in January that he was leaving this month after four years in the top post.

– Associated Press

HOUSE RESOLUTION CONDEMNS INDIAN OFFICIAL

Two members of the House of Representatives this week introduced a resolution condemning an Indian official for violating religious freedom. The lawmakers’ move came as the State Department is facing a sensitive decision about whether to allow the Indian leader, Narendra Modi, to visit America.

Mr. Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat province, is scheduled to speak at Madison Square Garden on Sunday as part of a tour organizers said is aimed at boosting economic development in his region.

In the congressional resolution, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, a Democrat, and Rep. Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania, a Republican, accuse Mr. Modi of complicity in rioting in 2002 that killed more than 1,000 Muslims. They also claim Mr. Modi, who belongs to a Hindu political party, has condoned attacks on Christians and members of other faiths. Mr. Modi has denied responsibility for the violence.

About 20 members of Congress and a wide array of human rights organizations have written to Secretary of State Rice, asking her to deny Mr. Modi permission to enter America. They cited a federal law that can be used to bar violators of religious freedom from the country. The State Department is expected to announce its decision today. Several human rights activists said yesterday they expect Mr. Modi will be refused entry.

An official with Human Rights Watch, Thomas Malinowski, said Mr. Modi already has an American visa. “The issue will be stripping him of that visa,” Mr. Malinowski said. A diplomat at the Indian consulate in New York said yesterday he was unaware of any change to Mr. Modi’s travel plans.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

LAWMAKERS MEET WITH FAMILY OF MURDERED IRISH MAN

Several American senators offered their support yesterday to five Belfast sisters who are campaigning against the Irish Republican Army’s killing of their brother, a case raising international pressure on the outlawed paramilitary group to disband.

“No political party can also have an armed unit that continues the violence and criminality in today’s world,” said Senator Kennedy, a Democrat of Massachusetts, part of a growing chorus of Irish-American leaders who have rebuked the IRA over the January 30 killing of Robert McCartney.

McCartney was beaten and stabbed to death outside a Belfast pub. His sisters have led a campaign to try to apprehend his killers, saying more than 70 potential witnesses are too afraid to identify anyone responsible to police because local IRA figures were involved. Under increasing public pressure to cooperate, the IRA instead offered to shoot four of the men responsible, a move that prompted further criticism.

The sisters have been invited to the White House on St. Patrick’s Day. President Bush said yesterday he was looking forward “to meeting these very brave souls” and added, “Hopefully some good will come out of the evil perpetuated on this family.”

– Associated Press

OFFICIALS: SOME NUCLEAR WASTE RECORDS MAY HAVE BEEN FALSIFIED

Government employees may have falsified documents related to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project in Nevada, the Energy Department said yesterday. The disclosure could jeopardize the project’s ability to get a federal permit to operate the dump.

During preparation for a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the department found a number of e-mail messages from 1998 and 2000 in which an employee of the U.S. Geological Survey “indicated that he had fabricated documentation of his work.”

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the department is investigating what kind of information was falsified and whether it would affect the scientific underpinnings of the project.” If in the course of that review any work is found to be deficient, it will be replaced or supplemented with analysis and documents that meet appropriate quality assurance standards,” said Mr. Bodman. He said he was “greatly disturbed” by the development. The department said the questionable data involved computer modeling for water infiltration and climate at the Yucca site, which is 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

– Associated Press