BLUEFIELD, Va. — U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., went underground on Thursday to shed some light on the nation’s need for a National Energy Policy, more success on job creation and dramatic action on the U.S. debt and deficit crisis.

“We are now $16 trillion in debt, and every day we don’t act on it, we add an additional $4 billion to our national debt,” Warner said to a group of about 60 people gathered at Fincastle Country Club. The luncheon was hosted by the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce, and jointly sponsored by Appalachian Power Co., BB&T, the Bluefield Gas Co., First Community Bank, New Peoples Bank and the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors.

Warner, a former Virginia governor who is serving his first term in the U.S. Senate, said that nothing that President Barack Obama or former Gov. Mitt Romney are talking about in their campaigns will address the deficit and national debt crisis. He said that during the last 75 years, the U.S. has only operated without a deficit on 5 years.

Warner said that the deficit grew in both Democratic and Republican administrations. He said the best way to rectify the situation is to vote, and “to vote for those who are telling you the truth.”

Warner visited Consol’s Buchanan No. 1 mine earlier in the day. He said that the biggest problem now faced by the coal industry is not the challenges brought on by regulations enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency, but rather the low cost of natural gas.

Warner said that he believes in a comprehensive national energy policy that includes coal, solar, wind, renewable energy, nuclear, natural gas and more efficient use of energy and he said he supported the Keystone Pipeline project in the Senate, but could not gain support for the project in the Senate.

“Washington is so wild some times that it makes Richmond seem rational,” he said.

He said that Southwest Virginia is doing better with job creation than other parts of the state, but he expressed concerns that too many job applicants are unable to pass the drug screening tests for available jobs. He said that the situation could be worse.

“History will treat Bush and Obama well for taking decisive action,” in terms of saving the economy,” Warner said. “We are starting to see job growth,” he said.

Warner fielded interesting questions from the audience involving public education, banking and the future for coal mining. In responsen to a question by Rebecca Peterson as to whether her son should consider a career in coal mining engineering, Warner said that he thinks the EPA has gone too far in some places, but he said that mining permits are up and added that “the facts on climate change are real.”

Still, he said that “energy is the right choice” for a potential career.