Sen. Chambliss says secure the border

By Jamie Jones

Securing the U.S. border with Mexico to curb illegal immigration could be seen as a Herculean task.

Restoring the public’s faith in the government’s ability to solve the problem could prove just as challenging, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said in Dalton on Thursday.

“As we went around the state, as we went around the country and heard from folks, they told us that, ‘Look, we don’t have any confidence in the federal government that you’re going to do what you say you’re going to do and until you restore that confidence, we’re not going to work with you or mandate that you need to create additional temporary worker programs or deal with folks who are hear illegally,’” Chambliss said after touring a Shaw Industries plant. “‘The focus needs to be on securing the border.’”

Chambliss said he didn’t support the immigration reform bill that failed to pass Congress last year. A larger omnibus immigration bill being considered now contains money to hire more border patrol agents, continue work on the border fence, cameras to locate “hot spots” and unmanned observation vehicles to keep tabs on border movement.

“Once we secure the border, I think we’ll be able to move ahead and at least expand existing temporary worker programs that will require — and I emphasize require — biometric cards to be in the possession of folks who are here in a legal fashion and go a long way toward moving to some solution of this problem down the road,” Chambliss said.

The floorcovering industry has fallen on tough times because of the downturn in the once red hot housing market. Problems caused by the housing slump have resulted in lower floorcovering sales, which have led to layoffs and shift reductions. The residential housing market, which has been strong in recent years, has been hit the hardest and Chambliss said Congress must help homeowners keep their homes, possibly by passing legislation.

“What we need to do is create good, long-term policies that are going to stimulate the housing industry and when you do this, obviously the demand goes up,” he said.

Chambliss said stimulating the economy is “very difficult from a legislative standpoint,” but he hopes the economic stimulus package passed earlier this year, which will provide the typical taxpayer with a $600 rebate check, will provide some relief.

“Hopefully they’ll take that money and either spend it or put it in the bank where a bank will have it to use as additional capital for loans,” Chambliss said. “The idea is if they spend the money there will be a trickle down effect at the retail level all across the retail industry. The hardware store gets a benefit form one household’s money, then the owner of the hardware store may buy something more to fill up the shelves or he and his family may go out and improve their quality of life.”

The waste-to-energy facility that Chambliss visited is the first gasification plant in the carpet industry, according to Shaw Industries. The process is fueled with carpet waste and laminate wood floor. This technology replaces traditional fossil fuel boiler technology used to produce steam for carpet dyeing operations at plants in Dalton and results in much cleaner emissions, according to Shaw. The facility is currently diverting approximately 16,000 tons of carpet waste and 6,000 tons of wood waste from landfills each year while also reducing oil usage at the plant by 90 percent.

Chambliss said he was “significantly impressed” with the facility.

“When I have an opportunity to come into a plant like this and I see a pile of nylon that normally would be going into a big hill on the side of the road covered up by dirt — instead of that, it’s being transformed into energy — that is truly exciting,” said Chambliss, who noted Shaw Industries carpet can be found in his Washington, D.C., apartment and his home in Moultrie.

One event happening in the nation’s capital as Chambliss toured the Shaw plant was the University of Georgia’s first round NCAA basketball tournament game against Xavier University. Chambliss, a 1966 UGA graduate, had received his most recent update with five minutes left in a close game. When a reporter told Chambliss the Bulldogs lost, he was disappointed.

“They played their hearts out,” he said.