Congressional Democratic leaders sent President Bush a letter on Wednesday asking him to explain how he intends to fund various proposals in the face of a rapidly shrinking projected budget surplus.

"It is imperative that you provide specific guidance on how you intend to pay for the additional initiatives that you are calling for," wrote the Democrats, who requested a meeting with the president on the matter.

"We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to receive the benefit of your thinking," they said.

The letter came two days after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected the overall budget surplus for fiscal 2001 would be $153 billion, down $122 billion from an earlier estimate in May and made up entirely of funds intended for Social Security. Excluding those Social Security funds, the 2001 budget would be $9 billion in deficit, the CBO figured.

"For Democrats, saving the Social Security surplus is not a symbolic goal -- it is a shared commitment we have made to the American people and one that we thought you shared," the letter said.