A shift at Hoskins Drug Store

I had the privilege of working a shift at Hoskins Drug Store in Clinton, Tennessee as I kicked off my "Chuck on the Job" initiative. It is my goal to work a shift with a local business in the 3rd District each time I home on recess from Washington, D.C. It started this week as I made milkshakes, served sandwiches and cleared tables at Hoskins – a landmark in Anderson County.

I saw first-hand that a small family business, when given the opportunity, can survive for over 80 years, be passed down from generation to generation, and employ several people at a time. It is a place that residents from all over town come to eat, socialize and shop. I learned that a business is not just an enterprise, but also an integral part of the fabric of a local community.

I talked to a 76 year-old lady who showed me a picture of Hoskins when she was just a child. She moved away from Tennessee for over 40 years, but eventually came back to Oak Ridge and told me how great it felt to be back home at Hoskins.

I continued to hear from residents about wanting the government to be reigned in, for spending to be cut and for government to get out of their way. Americans are concerned about the long term effects brought on by a government that spends more than it takes in and leverages our future to foreign countries; they are fed up with “tax, spend, borrow” policies, and want them stopped.

I also continued to hear and learn about the tax burdens and paperwork burdens that small businesses have to comply with because of laws thrust on them by the government. They want us to stay out of their way so they can create jobs and economic growth. I was proud to have the first piece of legislation I put my name on be The Small Business Paperwork Relief Act – which will repeal the burdensome 1099 paperwork provision found in ObamaCare.

I owned and operated a small business with my wife for over 24 years before I was elected to Congress last November. I know the many hardships businesses are facing, and I promise to stand up for them and make sure they are left alone. It is places like Hoskins Drug Store that make America the great economic engine that it is, and I want it to stay that way.