U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss spoke to a largely Republican group of supporters at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Chambliss, along with Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Georgia Commissioner of Insurance John Oxendine, stopped by the Rockmart Municipal Building during a Saturday tour of Norwest Georgia. The group was in Floyd County earlier in the day and was headed to Carrolton next.

Chambliss spoke about the proposed energy bill he is promoting along with what the national media has termed "The Gang of 10," a collection of five Democratic and five Republican Senators who agreed to get together and try and reach a compromise solution on the nation's energy policy.

Chambliss said the group figured out early on that they would not be able to find 60 votes in the U.S. Senate in support of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Chambliss explained that 60 votes would be needed to overcome the expected filibuster from Democrats opposed to the idea.

Instead, the bill promotes other potential solutions to high gasoline prices, including offshore drilling. In particular, Chambliss said the bill would open up new areas of the Gulf of Mexico, which already has the infrastructure in place to make quick use of new wells.

Also on hand for the event were local Republican candidates Larry Reynolds and Phillip Bentley, who are running for Polk County Commission, Jack Goss, running for election as sheriff on the Republican ticket, and Bob Culver, who is seeking the Dist. 16 House of Representatives seat.