ROCK HILL U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said the recent downgrade of the country's bond rating by Standard & Poor's is a "wake-up call" for national leaders to keep looking for ways to boost the economy and spur job creation.

The S.C. Republican also said it's important for bipartisan talks on those issues, saying neither political party alone can solve the major problems facing the country.

Graham spoke Thursday before more than 50 attendees of a luncheon held by the Rock Hill Rotary club. His talk focused primarily on the economy, military efforts in the Middle East and immigration reform.

Graham said despite the S&P decision he believes the U.S. Treasury remains secure, in part, because the country will always pay its bills. But he said leaders should seize the opportunity to make big decisions.

He said that includes cutting from the Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare budgets, which account for 57 percent of federal spending. Graham repeated an earlier proposal to raise the eligibility age for Medicaid and Social Security in order to help pare costs.

Graham said he is not against raising revenues but doesn't think it needs to come through tax rate increases. He called for streamlining the corporate tax code, cutting some deductions and exemptions, and reforming the National Labor Relations Board. Graham also backed a moratorium on environmental regulations that he said could hurt businesses.

He said supporting job creation is vital to helping other parts of the economy.

Graham said radical Islam remains a concern for the country. He said it's important to ensure there is a functioning Army and more secure political system in Afghanistan and Iraq to help keep the United States safe and make sure the military doesn't have to return after 2014.

He addressed immigration, calling again for the country to secure its border with Mexico. Otherwise, he said, terrorists might find a way to take advantage of the situation.

He said the current undocumented immigrants should be given a chance to become legal, including paying a fine, learning English and "going to the back of the line" if they want the chance to become citizens.

The country, he said, should change its system of automatically making citizens of the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the U.S.