As fellow business owners, they understand the challenges small businesses face.
When the 116th Congress was sworn into office in January 2019, four more NFIB members were among them—get to know them here.
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Indiana
Mike Braun hails from Jasper, Indiana, where he returned to start his career after earning his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1978. He began his career at Meyer Body Company in 1981, and after later acquiring full ownership, he formed Meyer Distributing, transitioning the company from the manufacturing sector to distribution. As founder and CEO of Meyer Distributing and owner of Meyer Logistics, Braun helped build the company into a nationwide competitor in third-party logistics. He’s been an NFIB member since 2004.
Braun previously served as a representative in the Indiana State House for three years.
Rep. Kevin Hern, Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District
After serving in the military, earning an engineering and a business degree, and working a variety of jobs in his early adulthood, Kevin Hern decided in 1999 to use every dime he had to buy the two McDonald’s restaurants in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The hard work he put into making sure these franchises succeeded paid off—now, Hern is the owner of KTAK Corporation, an organization that owns 10 McDonald’s franchises in the Tulsa area. He’s been an NFIB member since 2017.
“Career politicians don’t understand the weight of government regulations on small business owners,” Hern says. “Having built my business from the ground up, I deeply understand the plight of the American business owner. Federal regulations shouldn’t be a roadblock to growth and prosperity. With business owners and scores of political outsiders coming to Congress, the American people have finally regained their voice in the political process, and I look forward to what we’re going to accomplish together.”
Rep. Pete Stauber, Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District
Pete Stauber has a long history of helping the people of northeastern Minnesota: He spent 22 years with the Duluth Police Department and then began his political career by serving as a Hermantown City Councilor and a St. Louis County Commissioner.
Stauber also has a life-long appreciation of hockey—he played on scholarship at Lake Superior State University and professionally for the Detroit Red Wings. Stauber now runs Duluth Hockey Company with his five brothers. He’s been an NFIB member since 2011.
“Thanks to pro-growth policies like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the economy is thriving and small business optimism is at an all-time high,” Stauber says. “But despite this economic surge, we have more work to do. Helping small businesses succeed will always be a top priority of mine while in Congress because small businesses are the engine of our economy.”
Rep. John Rose, Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District
John Rose is a lifelong resident of Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District and is the eighth generation in his family to farm in DeKalb County. To be fully prepared for whatever his future held in owning and operating the family farm, Rose studied agriculture at Tennessee Tech University, earned a master’s in agricultural economics from Purdue University, and got his law degree from Vanderbilt University. He’s been an NFIB member since 2018 and now runs Boson Software LLC.
