CHEYENNE—U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin said her efforts to extend computer and communication technology to rural America have helped diversify Wyoming's economy.

“As a matter of fact, Wyoming is one of the best-wired states in the nation,” said Cubin, the Republican candidate for U.S. House.

Meanwhile, her Democratic opponent, Gary Trauner, said Wyoming can broaden its economy by remaking itself as a leader in energy development technology.

“Wyoming is ground zero for that, and we should be,” said Trauner, a businessman and entrepreneur from Wilson. “We should be a leader not only in the national economy but the world economy.”

Both candidates for U.S. House discussed their views on economic diversification in recent interviews with the Star-Tribune. They also talked about health care and immigration.

Cubin, a former state lawmaker, said her efforts to extend telecommunications infrastructure to rural America have increased student access to Internet and helped advance remote medical treatment.

She suggested that Wyoming can further diversify its economy by investing in highways and pipelines, but said the state's economic health is mostly a job for state leaders.

“I really think that is more of a question that the state officials should answer,” she said.

Trauner said Wyoming can become a world leader in energy technology by investing in university education and in public-private partnerships that yield ideas and products for export around the world.

He said the federal government can help by shifting federal subsidies from mature energy industries to developing ones.

“I would argue that one of the big winners in the economy over the next 20 to 50 years is going to be the folks that have the know-how and the technology and have done the research for sustainable energy of the future,” he said. “And that's everything from extracting fuel resources better and more cleanly and more efficiently to coal gasification to alternative fuels, solar, wind, ethanol.”

The national health care debate, Trauner said, is tangled in partisan politics, something he'd like to help change.

He argued that Americans already subsidize a form of universal health care by paying staggering insurance premiums. It's smarter to extend coverage to everyone in a systematic and potentially money-saving fashion, he said.

“We've already got a system where everybody is covered, but it's controlling us, we're not controlling it,” Trauner said.

Cubin called for small-business health plans, or association plans, that allow business owners to band together for deals on health insurance.

“I absolutely do not believe in socialized medicine or nationalized medicine, which ever is promoted by my opponent,” Cubin said.

Cubin, whose husband and son are doctors, said adopting an electronic form of medical records could save millions nationwide.

She's also been working to improve mental health care for seniors, and she'd like to see the government do more to attract doctors to Wyoming. That's why she is backing a grant program to entice nurses and recent medical students to work in rural areas.

Cubin also suggested tort reform as a means to reduce medical insurance rates and allow doctors to skip costly tests whose only function is to protect them in case of a lawsuit.

“I think we need to create an environment so we don't have to practice defensive medicine,” she said.

On the topic of immigration, Cubin suggested tightening the U.S.-Mexico border, and enforce existing laws and expanding the guest worker program.

Cubin said she opposes amnesty. She proposed a system in which recent illegal arrivals are deported while those who have established themselves in the United States over the long term are punished but allowed to stay.

“Deporting 12 million people is simply not a realistic thing to do -- it would be very damaging to the economy,” Cubin said.

Trauner called for a stronger border, penalties for employers who hire illegal workers and ID cards for noncitizen workers. He also said the United States must adopt trade rules that foster job growth in other countries so workers can stay there.

“I figure as long as folks don't have a level playing field in the countries where they live, it's lose-lose for everyone except the big companies,” he said.

Trauner said he does not support amnesty for illegals. “I have never mentioned the word amnesty,” he said.

Reach Star-Tribune capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.