1.   And both parties will be constrained by the necessity of paying for any cuts with benefit reductions or revenue increases elsewhere to stay on track toward a balanced budget.

2.   Because of the economic complexities involved, a number of them also call for such benefit reductions as raising the retirement age or scaling back cost of living increases.

3.   Bush has opposed benefit reductions for current retirees or those close to retirement.

4.   But opponents of private accounts say low-income earners could not earn enough in private accounts to make up for benefit reductions.

5.   But officials say many details are misunderstood by workers and that estimates of benefit reductions are often too high.

6.   But throughout the negotiations, Silver apparently took a hard line against time limits and benefit reductions.

7.   Modest benefit reductions and small tax increases imposed gradually can bring revenues and expenditures into balance.

8.   One way to achieve this is to restrict how much a beneficiary can make at a job without incurring a benefit reduction.

9.   SOCSEC-GRAMM -- WASHINGTON -- Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, unveils his proposal to reform and preserve Social Security without benefit reductions or tax increases.

10.   The benefit reductions would be smaller for people who reach retirement age in the next three or four decades.