A Weekly e-Newsletter from
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

January 19, 2007

Dear Friends,                              

This week, we remembered and honored a man who stood for equality and justice around the world, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  While we have set aside one day to honor the service and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we should remember every day what he fought for on behalf of all mankind.  This year, we also remember the passing of his great partner who was a tireless worker in the civil rights movement, Coretta Scott King.  I hope this day served as a reminder of our country’s continuing commitment to pursuing justice and equality around the world.  I attend the service at Ebenezer Baptist each year because I believe it is a worthwhile service to honor Dr. King and his legacy at the very church at which he preached and it serves to heighten the importance of his legacy and to help us keep it in mind throughout the year.

Immigration Reform

On Thursday, I spoke on the floor and introduced legislation to require that the first step of comprehensive immigration reform be to secure the U.S. borders.  My legislation also spells out in detail the increased manpower, equipment and technology necessary to stop the flood of illegal immigrants into our country.   I have said over and over again that there is no way you can reform legal immigration unless you first stop the porous borders and the flow of illegal immigrants.  My legislation would prohibit implementation of its guest worker program until the Department of Homeland Security certifies to the President and to the Congress that the border security provisions in the immigration legislation are fully funded and operational. 

Those border security provisions that must be in place before a guest worker program can begin are spelled out in my bill and they include five main items:

• Manpower – authorizing 14,000 new full-time Border Patrol Agents as well as 2,500 new Port of Entry Inspectors and 250 new Deputy U.S. Marshals.
• Detention beds – authorizing detention facilities with an additional 20,000 detention beds to end the practice of “catch and release.”
• Barriers – authorize additional barriers such as fences, roads or underground sensors where appropriate.
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles -- authorize more than $450 million to acquire and maintain a squadron of unmanned aerial vehicles with high-tech sensors and satellite communication to allow coverage on the border by an unmanned vehicle 24 hours a day.
• Biometric ID – establish a biometric secure identification card program so employers can verify an immigrants’ status.

Once the border security provisions included in the bill are implemented, Isakson’s legislation would give individuals who are here in the country illegally one year to come forward and identify themselves. These individuals would be required to clear the terrorist watch list and a criminal background investigation as well as proving that they or the head of their household are employed. These individuals would then receive a two-year temporary work permit, renewable as long as they remain law-abiding, remain employed and complete within those first two years an approved assimilation program that includes English and civics lessons. 

My legislation would not offer any special pathway to citizenship for these individuals. They would have to pursue citizenship through the same rules and procedures that are already in place for any other immigrant.  It’s absolutely essential that we restore the confidence of the American people, and we send the message to those that yearn to come to this country that there’s one way to get here and that one way is the legal route.  Please click here to view a copy of the bill.

PeachCare

One of the major issues we are facing today in Georgia is a shortfall in funding for our children’s health insurance program, PeachCare for Kids.  Georgia faces a deadline of January 31st to obtain more funding or face the prospect of having to send letters next month to the families of some 270,000 children enrolled in the program that they may not be able to participate after March.  On Thursday, Senator Chambliss and I met with a bipartisan delegation from Georgia to discuss this funding crisis.  Last month, Senator Chambliss and I successfully obtained a small amount of additional funding for Georgia and other states.  I remain committed to working with Saxby and with our House delegation to find more funding in the short term and to fix this funding formula in the long term so that Georgia can continue to serve these children who really need this health insurance.  The delegation, which met with several officials in Washington, presented the senators with copies of resolutions from the state House and Senate urging Congress to provide funding for PeachCare.

Economic Prosperity

On Tuesday, Anna Cablik of Marietta, Ga., testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about the difficulty excessive government mandates place on a small business owner.  The hearing dealt with issues such as leave expansion, minimum wage, labor standards enforcement, and other employer-mandates and workplace regulation. I believe free people making free decisions in the marketplace is preferable to government mandates that dictate who should work, where they should work and how much money they should be allowed to keep.  I am concerned over calls for greater governmental control of the economy.  The economic prosperity we all crave flows from the entrepreneurial inspiration of the American people, not from their representatives in Washington.  Mandates, protectionism, isolationism, high taxes are all bad for America and bad for Americans.  I appreciate that my dear friend, Anna Cablik, was able to testify before the committee about her experiences as a small business owner.  Anna was born and raised in the Republic of Panama. In 1982, she started her own contracting company, ANATEK, Inc. in Atlanta. Anna’s second company, ANASTEEL & Supply Company, LLC was created in 1994 and is the only Hispanic and female owned reinforcing steel fabricator in the Southeast.

What’s on Tap for Next Week?

The Senate will debate legislation to increase the minimum wage.                                                     

Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson