COTTONWOOD FALLS -- Rob Wasinger, Republican candidate for Congress in the 1st Congressional District of Kansas, articulated his energy position at the NW Kansas Region Energy Collaborative, encouraging communities to work together with a focus on developing wind energy.

Wasinger is a native of Hays and has served Kansas as a former staffer to then-State Senate Majority Leader Jerry Moran, Governor Bill Graves, and most recently as chief-of-staff to U.S. Senator Sam Brownback. Wasinger has been endorsed by former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

The full speech follows:

I applaud all of you for working together in such a cooperative fashion, especially Dan Hartman for all his hard work in putting this together. This is the model for economic success in western Kansas and other rural parts of our state.

No longer can we pit one county against another.  This has happened for too long. We are all in this together.  Logan County's success is Gove County's success and vice versa.

The challenges are too great and the consequences too severe for each community or county to go it alone.  We're talking about the end of a way of life that has nurtured each one of us.  If we hope to pass on those opportunities to our children and grandchildren, we must band together and look for ways to collectively help our rural communities grow and prosper.

My campaign has focused on economic growth and rural prosperity.  I will pursue policies in Congress that will give rural communities and their residents a fighting change.  And let's be clear; that is all citizens in the Big First are looking for: just a fighting chance to provide for their family and pass something onto their kids.  They
don't want a handout and they don't want something for nothing.  They are willing to work for it and so am I.

A perfect example of this is the renewable energy policy being discussed in Washington.  Congress needs to send the proper signal that it supports wind energy development and expansion.  Not only does this provide a renewable source of energy, but it provides jobs in rural communities.

Perhaps one of the most exciting developments on this front is the recent announcement by Siemens that they'll locate a production facility in Hutchinson that produces wind turbines.  This facility will have 400 jobs.

Not only should we produce the electricity in Kansas, but we should also make the wind turbines that produce the electricity, too.  This just makes sense.  We have a skilled and able workforce and we're located in the heart of wind country.

Whether it is large wind farms, or small facilities that help power a community, Congress needs to send a clear signal we will support these ventures as a nation.

Another positive development is the news Sunflower will finally be able to expand their Holcomb facility.  It's about time and I hope they don't stop at one stack.  This increased baseload of coal will help us expand our transmission lines, which increases our ability to send power produced in Kansas, whether coal or wind, across the the
country.

It's these sorts of common sense approaches I will pursue as your next Congressman. I know you want to save your rural communities and I know you're willing to fight for it.  I'm here to tell you so am I.