The candidates for the 11th Congressional District race agree a slumping economy and skyrocketing health care costs will be major issues for whoever is elected. Their ideas differ on how to tackle them.

Republican candidate Marty Ozinga, Democratic candidate State Sen. Debbie Halvorson and Green Party candidate Jason Wallace are all vying for the seat, left vacant by incumbent Jerry Weller.

Less regulation is needed, not more, Ozinga said. The president of Ozinga Brothers, a ready-mix concrete business, said he would be a fiscal conservative and bring a business person's perspective to economic issues, he said.

"I'd like to see a balanced budget and issues like taxes and regulations that favor businesses and along those lines job creation," he said. "As a business person in Congress, I'd be a voice of common sense and reason to help our country get back on track."

Every year it becomes harder for businesses to afford good health care coverage for employees, Ozinga said. Less regulation is needed to solve health care problems, he said. Insurance should be portable between states and the IRS should make insurance payments tax deductible and offer tax credits, he said.

"I don't believe we should look to government to pay bills and take over the health care industry," he said.

Halvorson said there needs to be more health and wellness programs and incentives for companies that participate. High health care costs are a "job killer" and are taking a toll on businesses and the economy, she said. An increasing number of veterans also need care, she said.

"Everyone should be able to have affordable access and portable health care," she said. "We need health and wellness programs. We need to allow small businesses to pool their resources. That will spread the risk and it doesn't allow the insurance companies to cherry pick the healthiest people. It would bring down costs."

Solving the health care crisis will help the economy, Halvorson said.

"We (also) need to be investing in a stimulus package that makes businesses want to invest and keep jobs here in America and we don't want people taking their jobs and companies overseas and getting tax breaks to do so," she said.

All three candidates feel it's important to invest in alternative energy to create jobs and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

As the Green candidate, sustainable, renewable energy is a major part of his campaign, Jason Wallace said.

"We could be a leading manufacturer and exporter of solar panels and wind turbines in the U.S," he said, adding conservation along with retrofitting homes and businesses would save money and produce good jobs.

Wallace, a Bloomington/Normal resident, is one of the youngest candidates running for United States Congress at age 26, he said. He is sensitive to the needs of veterans, he said. He served six years in the Illinois Air National Guard and served 17 months in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Expanding Medicare to include all Americans or providing a single-payer system through a nonprofit organization are the best ways to solve the health care crisis and help small businesses, Wallace said.