As we’ve noted many times, the tradition of U.S. business owners becoming lawmakers, civic or military leaders is as old as the country, itself. So it should come as no surprise that the freshman class of the 114th Congress includes several new lawmakers whose bios include business ownership. While they were elected to represent citizens of a particular geographic area, the variety of industries and types of businesses they’ve owned can also be helpful in providing insight into the business impact of various types of legislation Congress will face in this session.
From running a 150-year-old pest control company to heading up a construction project-management web-app business, there is a wide array of businesses related to these U.S. Representatives.
Rep. Rick Allen (R, Georgia)
R.W. Allen & Associates, Augusta, Georgia.
Allen is the founder of R.W. Allen and Associates, a construction company headquartered in Augusta.
Rep. Don Beyer (D, Virginia)
Don Beyer Automotive Group, Falls Church, Virginia.
Beyer is the owner of several Volvo dealerships in Virginia, a business he and his wife started in 1973.
Rep. Rod Blum (R, Iowa)
Digital Canal, Dubuque, Iowa
Blum is Chairman and CEO of Digital Canal, a cloud-based construction estimation software.
Rep. Mike Bost (R, Illinois)
Bost Trucking, Murphysboro, Illinois.
Bost has run his family’s Murphysboro-based trucking business for ten years
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D, California)
DeSaulnier has owned several restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area.
Rep. Bob Dold (R, Illinois)
Rose Pest Solutions, Chicago, Ill.
Dold resides in Kenilworth, Illinois and runs Rose Pest Solutions, said to be the oldest pest control company in the country.
Rep. Cresent Hardy (R, Nevada)
Legacy Construction & Development, Mesquite, Nevada
Hardy is owner of Legacy Construction, a 21-year-old construction company.
Rep. French Hill (R, Arkansas)
Delta Trust and Bank, Little Rock
Hill founded Delta Trust & Banking Corp, a community banking company recently acquired by Simmons Bank.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R, Washington)
Family farm, Sunnyside, Washington
Newhouse owns a 600-acre working farm in Sunnyside, Washington.
Rep. Steve Russell (R, Oklahoma)
Two River Arms , Oklahoma City
Russell is founder and owner of Two Rivers Arms, a company that manufactures replicas of Iraqi Tabuk style rifles.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R, New York)
Premium Plywood Products, Altamont, N.Y.
Stefanik works in her family’s wholesale plywood business, located in Guilderland Center, New York.
Rep. Mark Takai (D, Hawaii)
Pacific First Enterprises, Aiea, Hawaii
Takai and his wife, Sami, and co-owners of the insurance brokerage and consulting firm, Pacific First Enterprises.