Excessive government regulation and the effect of the energy crunch on rural communities top the list of issues Republican Tom Casperson plans to tackle if he is elected to represent Michigan's First Congressional District in the United States Congress. The first district includes all of the Upper Peninsula and a large portion of northern Lower Michigan. Mr. Casperson of Escanaba, a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, is serving his last term and seeks to unseat incumbent Democrat Bart Stupak in the November 4 election.

Mr. Casperson said job creation is the top issue in Michigan, and it is closely tied to the need to find solutions to the high cost of energy. High fuel costs are a driving force behind difficulties faced by businesses who could create jobs for Michigan residents, he said.

"Their costs are going up all over the place and [they] can't survive, especially with the spikes that you've seen," Mr. Casperson said.

Creating an energy plan to solve these problems has been inhibited by government, which has interfered with business growth, he suggested.

All energy production and conservation options should be explored, including wind energy and hybrid cars, but in the short term, Mr. Casperson feels oil drilling should be pursued.

"We cannot walk away from the oil idea. It's always bothered me that we are depending on other countries the way we are," he said.

Oil drilling is something that is "lining up with my core beliefs," he said. "It draws the line between Bart [Stupak] and I."

More information on oil drilling needs to be brought before the public, and citizens should have the chance to vote on whether drilling happens, he said.

The Democrats currently determine what congress votes on, and it is important that the public understands all issues that may be attached to any proposed energy bill, he added.

"If they load it up with a bunch of garbage, and make it very difficult to vote for the drilling, people need to understand that," he suggested.

Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra, visiting The St. Ignace News office with Mr. Casperson August 15, spoke in favor of Mr. Casperson's ideas. Mr. Hoekstra represents Michigan's Second Congressional District, an area spanning a portion of western Lower Michigan.

Gas prices are strangling Michigan residents, he said, especially northern Michigan citizens.

"Four dollars per gallon is a hardship for a lot of people, and the further north you get, the more rural you get and the more miles that people drive."

He also addressed the costs of home heating, which "are going to be much more expensive here than they were last year," he said.

Not only is the Upper Peninsula affected more than Lower Michigan by high gas prices, owing, in part, to the lack of public transportation options, home heating is a second major problem for northern residents, he said.

Oil drilling could help solve these problems, Mr. Casperson said, but to get public support, the perception of oil drilling operations as "evil" should be eliminated.

He likened anti-drilling sentiments to anti-logging sentiments. He cited his family's business, Casperson and Son Trucking, a log trucking operation.

"My background is in timber," he said. "I'm third generation. I've lived through this mantra of 'we're evil because we extract resources.' One of the reasons I ran for public office is because I listened to certain people who would demonize us and make us out to be monsters trying to destroy the environment."

He said the timber industry, like others, creates products relied upon by the same people who oppose timber cutting.

"What's happened, in my opinion, especially in the last 30 years, [is that] elected officials have become very popular trying to outdo everybody and be the greenest guy on the planet."

"That...is now bringing this country to its knees," he said. "I'm not against [protecting resources], I just think some common sense should be used."

A second issue high on his agenda is the size and expenditures of government.

"Government is in the way. [It] is not out there to help our business people," he said, referring both to state and federal government.

Mr. Casperson objects strongly to political campaigns that focus on opposing the operations of large corporations as a way to help common people.

Mr. Casperson said he wants to curb what he called government "lording" over businesses.

One way less government would help Michigan would be to reduce what he feels is excessive regulation of the timber industry.

According to Mr. Casperson, Bart Stupak claims that large timber sales are not taking place because President George Bush cut the U.S. Forest Service staff.

In truth, Mr. Casperson said, "The National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), passed in the 1970s to oversee major projects that affect the environment, now over-regulates modern timber sales. NEPA today has micro-managed every inch of soil out there, right down to the microorganisms on the ground."

"Thirty or 40 years ago, one forester for the forest service would put a timber sale up," a process that worked, he said. He added that he has spoken with foresters who set up sales decades ago, and who now reference flourishing forests where the sales were conducted.

"Today, it takes eight people to put a timber sale up. Two are foresters and six are biologists," a process Mr. Casperson said is too expensive.

According to him, Mr. Stupak's approach to forestry is counterproductive.

"He wants to put more money into [NEPA] because he thinks that is the right approach," Mr. Casperson said. "I believe they have gone overboard...walking around looking for amoebae on the ground so that they can find something to block timber sales. I just believe we've gone too far...We need to streamline that operation, look at past practices, and say 'where's the harm?'"

He wants to curb unnecessary spending by oversized government.

"We need to reform government to spend within its means," he said.