OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Rice says he would never support privatizing Social Security.

The Oklahoma City Democrat spoke yesterday at state party headquarters during a celebration of the 73rd anniversary of Social Security, the popular program started under Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt.

Rice charged that his Republican opponent, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, had assisted President Bush in policies that have created financial peril for the country.

But Josh Kivett, a spokesman for Inhofe, says giving people the option of establishing personal accounts wouldn't jeopardize their Social Security. Kivett says Rice appears to be more interested in ``scare tactics and maintaining the status quo'' than in ensuring the long-term viability of Social Security.

Rice says the Social Security system is not broke, but adjustments like raising the cap on which Social Security taxes are paid may have to be made to keep it solvent in the future. The cap is now $102,000.