Aug. 19--The United States is the only country in the world that's deliberately devastating its own economy by refusing to develop its own energy resources, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said Monday at a meeting of the Salina Noon Rotary Club at the Bicentennial Center.

Roberts said the No. 1 concern in the U.S. right now is energy and gasoline prices. He said he supports greater domestic energy production.

"I support a comprehensive approach," said Roberts, who's up for re-election. "We need to increase domestic energy production from all sources.

"We need to allow deep-sea drilling, we need to expand the alternative energy production," including oil shale, ethanol, biodiesel, battery-powered vehicles, wind, solar power, coal and nuclear energy.

While the purchasing oil from overseas suppliers contributes to the nation's budget deficit, the heart of America's budget deficit lies in entitlements -- think Medicare, Social Security -- that are ripe for reform.

Roberts said you can add in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina and tornadoes such as the one that nearly wiped out Greensburg.

"Everyone hollers about discretionary spending," said Roberts, 72. He said so-called "earmarks," money in congressional appropriation bills tagged for lawmakers' home state projects, have been flat for two years.

"It's entitlements that's been eating up (the budget)," Roberts said.

"If we can reform Medicare and get at the root causes instead of trying to ration health care out here, then you can do Social Security," he said.

Earmarks not all bad Several of Salina's interstate highway interchanges that have driven business development in south Salina through the years were funded by earmarks.

"You'll be hearing this (earmarks) term a lot this campaign season. I just want you to know that while some may call those earmarks or pork, I call them investments in Salina, jobs and also economic development for north-central Kansas," he said. "At any rate, I think there's a big difference."

Roberts' election opponent, Democrat Jim Slattery, a former Kansas congressman, has challenged Roberts for his stands on what Slattery calls the "big three" issues -- the war in Iraq, fuel prices and the federal budget deficit.

Roberts, in his remarks to the group and later with a reporter and editor at the Journal, addressed those issues and others, such as the newly passed federal farm bill.