The White House also rejects the idea that there is a Medicare surplus, arguing that the program is essentially in deficit.
Some liberals, however, already have begun mobilizing to oppose any changes to Social Security benefits, arguing that the program does not face an imminent crisis.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey has protested, arguing that the program could constitute an invasion of privacy and that youthful offenders would be tracked unfairly.
Adarand appealed again to the Supreme Court last November, arguing that the program still incorporated racial preferences that failed the strict scrutiny test.
"We need nuclear weapons," Kang Sok Joo, the North Korean senior foreign policy official, said, arguing that the program was a result of the Bush administration's hostility.
In the Arizona case that went before the Supreme Court, the National School Boards Association joined local school officials and teachers in arguing that the program was skewed toward religious schools, openly selecting students for scholarships based on their religion.
BP has repeatedly complained about the claims process, arguing that the program's administrator, Patrick Juneau, was approving fabricated payments for business economic losses based on an unsound interpretation of an agreement the company reached with victims last year.
A Manhattan woman has sued a $19,000-a-year preschool her daughter attended, arguing that the program failed to adequately prepare her daughter for the test required to enter New York City's hypercompetitive private school system.
The American Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit in early 2006 on behalf of a group of lawyers, writers and organizations, arguing that the program violated federal law and chilled their ability to communicate with their clients and overseas contacts.
Mr. Obama stepped up his campaign after liberal Democrats like Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts said they supported the purchases, arguing that the program would retain high-paying jobs in many districts nationwide.
