WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) rapped the business community on the knuckles Tuesday, saying it hasn't done enough to urge lawmakers to come to an agreement on long-term debt reduction.

Warner, one of five senators working on a long-term agreement to reduce ballooning federal debt levels by about $4.5 trillion over 10 years, said the business community could give lawmakers political cover to support difficult comprises on taxes and entitlement reforms needed to get the county's fiscal house in order "I want to chastise a bit... with the business community that I feel has unfortunately been very absent in this debate," Warner told a crowd of executives at The Wall Street Journal's CFO Network forum here.

Businesses are largely sitting on the sidelines, Warner said, because they expect lawmakers and the Obama administration will reach a separate budget agreement that will pave the way for an increase to the federal debt ceiling.

But that optimism is misplaced, he said. Even if a short-term agreement is reached on debt reduction before the U.S. defaults on its obligations in early August, political support could shortly evaporate for longer-term reforms that also are needed.

"There is more confidence in the business community that we're going to get through this debt limit (debate) than perhaps is warranted," Warner said. "My fear is you could very easily see something where you get through the debt ceiling and then the air goes out of any meaningful reform."

Warner's Gang of Five has been working for six months to craft a bipartisan compromise that will encompass reforms to practically every area of the federal budget. He suggested the business community would be particularly crucial in urging Republicans to support changes that would increase overall federal revenues. Republicans are under pressure not to support any compromise that entails revenue increases.