U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett said Thursday that "more could be done" by Gov. Mark Sanford to improve the state's economy.

Barrett, a Republican state legislator before his election to the U.S. House in 2002, is the latest prominent Republican to question Sanford.

His remarks came in response to questions about Sanford's economic development record during a meeting with reporters and editors of The Greenville News.

Sanford's spokesmen couldn't be reached for comment, but after similar remarks last month by new House Speaker Bobby Harrell, a spokesman said the Legislature had hampered the governor's efforts and should examine its role in the state's economic plight.

Barrett said he had "reached out time and time and time again with him to go in conjunction," but added that Sanford reached back only "to a certain degree."

"We have reached out personally, me and my staff, to the governor, several times," Barrett said when asked if he was satisfied with the energy being expended by the administration to raise the state's lagging per capita income by generating higher-paying jobs.

Although the state Department of Commerce is an executive branch under the governor, Barrett said, "I think we can work better" together.

Barrett also voiced a difference with Sanford over the role of the state's flagship research universities in economic development.

Sanford had told The News on July 8 that education -- not economic development -- must be the primary goal of the state's major research universities and if they didn't like it, they can "go private."

But Barrett, a graduate of The Citadel whose congressional district includes Clemson University, said, "The two go hand in hand."

Sanford, who has had a rocky relationship with a Republican-held Legislature that has scuttled most of his signature issues, drew criticism last month from Harrell.

Harrell told The News on July 13 that Sanford has fallen short of the economic development standards set by Republican predecessors David Beasley and Carroll Campbell.

Harrell, like Sanford, a Charleston Republican, stopped short of specifically blaming the governor, but suggested that Sanford needs more focus in solving the state's jobs problem. But he said the Legislature shares the responsibility.

His comments in an interview came two days after Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's bond rating from the highest AAA level to AA-plus. The agency blamed South Carolina's lagging economy and high unemployment rate of 6 percent compared to 5 percent nationally.

Barrett said he planned to meet with Harrell in the next two weeks to discuss economic development issues and initiatives.

On other topics, Barrett predicted that voluntary investment accounts would be included in legislation revamping Social Security and said the "best" vote he has cast in his 21/2 years in the U.S. House was against the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Barrett said that although he doubted Congress has the political will to drastically overhaul the program, he expected the House to approve voluntary accounts in some form that while voluntary, would require workers to opt out to remain on standard Social Security tax payments.

As for the new accounts, Barrett said, "They'll have your name, your Social Security number on them."

Barrett said he voted against the prescription drug bill -- going against President Bush and the House GOP leadership -- "because it wasn't right for the country."

The legislation, which he called the biggest entitlement program ever, had some merits by introducing limited market forces into the Medicare system, but it was too all encompassing, he said.

"There are some people, granted, that need some help, but had we scaled it down to folks that fit that category, it would have been something to seriously take a look at," Barrett said. "We're trying to do too much for too many people."