Fleischmann says excessive regulation, taxes put opportunities at risk

U.S. Rep Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, is running for reelection to his District 3 congressional seat. If reelected, Fleischmann will serve his eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The district consists of 10 counties, including Hamilton, Bradley and McMinn. Fleischmann and his wife, Brenda, reside in Ooltewah and have three sons.

Fleischmann said he decided to run for Congress to preserve for others the same opportunities he had.

“I saw the America that I grew up in, primarily in the ’60s and the ’70s, in many ways going away,” Fleischmann said in an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “I wanted those opportunities to be there for my children, for other people’s children. I wanted mobility there. I saw that going away, and in some ways, I still see that going away.”

Fleischmann will face Democrat Jack Allen, independent Stephen “Scooter” King and independent Jean Howard-Hill in the polls as voters cast ballots in the general election Nov. 5. Early voting in Tennessee begins Wednesday. For more information, visit elect.hamiltontn.gov.

Fleischmann said excessive regulation and excessive taxation are the reasons why the opportunities he pursued when he was younger are at risk today.

Fleischmann, 62, was born in New York. Throughout his childhood, he moved often and had lived in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago by the time he graduated high school. When Fleischmann was 13, his mother died after a terminal bone cancer diagnosis. She had also been diagnosed with breast cancer when he was 9.

Fleischmann was the first in his family to attend college and received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois. He then went to the University of Tennessee College of Law. Fleischmann met his wife in law school, and the two moved to Chattanooga after graduation.

The couple opened a law firm in downtown Chattanooga with nothing, he said.

“Just opened up cold, starved for literally two years,” Fleischmann said. “We made $50 our first month practicing law.”

Humble beginnings turned into making millions at his law firm.

Chattanooga attorney Brian O’Shaughnessy met Fleischmann while he was working in law, and the two became friends.

“He’s been somebody who’s always answered the phone for me,” O’Shaughnessy said in a phone interview. “He’s always been there when I’ve needed him. He’s a good guy and a good friend.”

O’Shaughnessy said Fleischmann’s district is diverse and he cares about all of the people in his district.

“He really does have concern for those people, whether they liked him or not, whether they vilify him or not,” O’Shaughnessy said. “He’s doing things for them, and he has everybody in the district in mind with the actions that he takes in Congress.”

Congressional career

In November 2010, Fleischmann was elected to serve his first term in the U.S. House and has held the seat since.

He serves on the Appropriations Committee and three of its subcommittees, which include Energy and Water Development; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education; and Defense. He also serves on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and is a member of its Energy Subcommittee. Fleischman chairs the Energy and Water Subcommittee of Appropriations.

(READ MORE: Federal funds flow to Chattanooga through targeted programs US Rep. Fleischmann puts in budget)

Chickamauga lock

Fleischmann has worked to get funding approaching $1 billion for replacement of the Chickamauga lock at Chickamauga Dam, a chamber used to raise or lower vessels between different water levels on the Tennessee River.

When he started his first congressional session, Fleischmann said there was no funding for the lock. He said he worked to restructure the Inland Waterways Trust Fund and was able to get the project fully funded. Then, the contractor had some issues with the project and the pandemic hit. More funding was needed, but since it had been fully funded prior, there wasn’t room made for the lock project in the budget. With community project funding, formerly known as earmarks, Fleischmann fully funded the project again. He said it will likely be open in 2028 or 2029 at the latest.

(READ MORE: Chickamauga lock replacement could be operational in November 2027)

Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands

Fleischmann said members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribe came to him and said their homeland, called Tanasi, was owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority in Monroe County.

“Three times, I’ve passed a bill in the House to get Tanasi back in the hands of the Eastern Band,” Fleischmann said. “It’s being held up by Republican senators in North Carolina.”

In January, Fleischmann sponsored the Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act, which would allocate certain federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The act passed the House and was most recently read by the Senate and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Oak Ridge

As Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee chair, Fleischmann oversees the Oak Ridge Reservation, which consists of 37,000 acres in Anderson and Roane counties of federally owned land. The reservation includes the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the East Tennessee Technology Park.

In September, it was announced that Orano USA, a France-based company, would build a multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge.

Overall, Fleischmann said he is best known for environmental cleanup, sometimes cleaning up after Department of Energy projects.

“I’m working with native tribes, community groups all over the country, to clean up legacy sites that have a pollutant related to something the DOE did either in the Manhattan Project or during the Cold War, and we’re getting there,” Fleischmann said.

Policy

Fleischmann said the main issues for those living in his district are inflation, jobs, foreign policy and socially conservative values.

The Times Free Press asked all candidates for their stances on abortion, guns and education legislation.

‘Hearts and minds’

Fleischmann said he was happy to see the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision overturned in 2022, ending the constitutional right to abortion. He touts a 100% pro-life voting record at the federal level.

“It became scientifically antiquated long before it became legally antiquated,” Fleischmann said, citing advances in fetal viability since the Roe decision in 1973.

He said he is comfortable with abortion legislation being turned back to the states, although he said he wishes states like New York, Oregon and California were in agreement with him on abortion.

“Would I prefer to see the hearts and minds change? Yes, I would,” Fleischmann said. “But right now, I think what we really need to do is focus on changing hearts and letting women know that as pro-life Republicans … we care about women’s history and all women’s issues, which there’s a plethora of those even beyond reproductive freedoms.”

‘Willy-nilly’

As an appropriator, Fleischmann works to fund the Department of Education. He said he does not think it should be abolished but thinks it should be reformed to give state and local governments more say in how they spend federal dollars.

“I think we have got to be very careful if we go in willy-nilly and start trying to dismantle things,” Fleischmann said.

‘The sick mind, not the weapon’

Fleischmann said he does not think Congress should ban assault weapons. He is not a gun owner but said he has friends with hundreds of guns.

“I’ve long said, it’s the evil will, the mental illness, the sick mind, not the weapon that is the problem,” Fleischmann said.

He said the root cause of any kind of violence needs to be addressed.

Contact Sarah Dolgin at sdolgin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6556.