U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Chattanooga, campaigned in his initial race for Congress in 2010 for major cuts in federal spending and believed entitlements should be on the table. Seven years, later, he still believes entitlements should be on the table.
The federal spending? Well, he’s going to fight tooth and nail for it if it’s in the 3rd Congressional District.
“Until we address mandatory spending,” Fleischmann told Times Free Press editors and reports Thursday, the country will be unable to get its fiscal house in order.
In the meantime, the fourth-term congressman says he’s proudly parochial.
It’s critical for him to be cognizant of how federal spending affects his constituents, Fleischmann said, ticking off the Chickamauga lock, the Oak Ridge Nuclear Laboratory, the Oak Ridge Y-12 plant, workforce development and the opioid crisis.