ALPENA — Republican candidate for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat, Mike Rogers, says he will work with his peers to protect and preserve the Great Lakes that many communities in Northeast Michigan enjoy and depend on for a healthy economy.

He also said he would work to lower costs for families and to help end the ongoing wars that he says the United States is being sucked into.

He also pledged to make sure the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center is well-funded and does not fall victim to cuts, no matter who becomes the next president.

Rogers was interviewed by The News on Sunday, as he was passing through Northeast Michigan while on his way for the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk, which is held each Labor Day.

Rogers’ Democrat opponent for the senate seat, Elissa Slotkin, was left a message, sent an email seeking comment, and invited to a sit-down or telephone interview before absentee voting begins on Sept. 26.

Rogers, who served in Congress for more than a decade while chairing the House Intelligence Committee, said his top priorities are to help reel in prices that are impacting families and businesses of all sizes nationwide. He said the costs of gasoline and other energy have climbed to the point where it is impacting every level of product production, the supply chain, and what businesses need to charge to stay solvent.

“We need to become energy independent again,” Rogers said. “I just don’t understand why we are sending money to other countries for fuel. It makes no sense when we have the ability to produce what we need here at home. If gas prices go down, the prices of other things will go down. Right now, the high costs of everything is killing the finances of small and medium businesses and families that are struggling.”

Rogers said he knows having healthy and vibrant natural resources is key to all of the communities in Northeast Michigan. He said if elected, he would push to ban drilling in the Great Lakes and push the government to invest in them to make sure they remain clean and safe.

Rogers said at the national level, talk about redirecting some of the water from the Great Lakes to western states that are suffering from drought and water restrictions has begun to amp up again. It has been considered in the past that a portion of the water in the Great Lakes could be moved to other areas that need it.

Rogers said to avoid this, leaders in the states that border the Great Lakes, and officials from Canada must maintain the strong relationship they have now so they can fight back if the idea begins to grow legs.

“This idea has actually been brought up a lot and I can assure you, it won’t happen under my watch,” Rogers said. “It is important that people know that this is being discussed. There is support for this from powerful people who represent the western states.”

Having a strong, well-trained, and adequately equipped military is critical to ensure the safety of the U.S. and its allies. He said the role the CRTC plays helps make sure our troops are prepared for any potential scenario when they are called upon, and that needs to continue well into the future. Rogers added that he also would like to lure more manufacturing businesses that produce the tools the military needs to Michigan.

He said the base’s outreach programs, and the impact it has on Alpena’s economy, could play a large role in the future to attract new recruits. Rogers said the number of people signing up to serve in the armed forces has steadily dipped and more people are needed to serve.

“I’m worried about our military preparedness, especially when you see the threats developing around the world,” he said. “It is important that people are exposed to the military in a positive way, and the base in Alpena, and other ones in the state, do exactly that. I will continue to fight for them.”

Rogers said he isn’t a fan of Ukraine using weapons provided to it by the United States to strike and invade Russia. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that that type of move could spark an escalation to the war and he warned Russia could respond with tactical nuclear weapons.

He added the attacks and gains Ukraine has made in Russia, will likely not hold because, despite the assistance Ukraine has received from around the globe, Putin is still a very powerful adversary.

“It is not sustainable for Ukraine,” Rogers said. “You are just poking the bear and risking significant escalation. Before, U.S. weapons were not supposed to be used inside of Russia, but the Biden administration eased those terms.”

Rogers said the federal government’s mandates for the production and utilization of electric vehicles have hurt Michigan and the auto industry in the state. He said most places around the country don’t have the infrastructure to properly support large volumes of EV vehicles on the road and that the technology isn’t perfected yet, especially for people who live in rural areas of the state. He said there are few chargers for people to use, a charge of the vehicle’s battery doesn’t last long when it is cold, and the cost of a new EV vehicle will only harm the automakers and ultimately the employees at the plants.

“We are already seeing the impacts in Michigan with all of the layoffs and the closure of the one auto plant,” Rogers said. “The people who made these mandates need to be held accountable because they aren’t realistic.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.