Before walking into the EPB Quantum Center for an interview, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, took an unexpected phone call.
Somebody needed a situation fixed. A U.S. Department of Energy official had apparently been left off the invite to a dinner with a delegation from France. Orano, a state-owned French nuclear fuels corporation, plans to build a $5 billion uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, the northern capital of the district Fleischmann has represented in Congress since 2011.
The representative estimates he works between 14 and 16 hours a day, seven days a week. He takes calls from constituents at all hours. For years, he has written the bill that funds the Department of Energy, funnelling billions of dollars to his district. He has secured millions of dollars to cover funding gaps for Chattanooga projects, including the delayed Chickamauga Lock replacement, the restoration of the Walnut Street Bridge and new public housing on the Westside.
His district is home to EPB’s quantum computer, two Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plants, the largest science and energy lab in the U.S. and the nation’s storehouse of bomb-grade uranium. He promotes the district when he speaks with President Donald Trump and his energy secretary, Chris Wright, the Fleischmann said.
Energy is not only Fleischmann’s signature issue in Congress. It’s also his style. He was one of five members of Congress, out of 535, with a perfect voting attendance record both in 2024 and 2025, according to vote records.