Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Graves for his help with this legislation.

I rise in support of H.R. 4693, bipartisan legislation to promote additional transparency over the management structure of the TVA.

I thank my dear friend and colleague from days in Tennessee and days up here, Representative Burchett, for his tireless work on this issue and for partnering with me on this act.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, or the TVA, is better known as the Nation's largest government-owned wholesale power producer, supplying power to ten million people across the States of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky.

The legislation corrects a change enacted in 1995 that removed a requirement to disclose the management structure and salaries of TVA executives as part of the legislation to eliminate antiquated Federal agency reporting requirements. Well, this wasn't an antiquated portion that was deleted. This was something the public needs to see and know.

This bill reflects a fair compromise between our legitimate congressional oversight responsibilities over TVA and the need of TVA to retain and maintain a pool of talented, diverse, and effective management staff, executives, and board members.

It would ensure that Congress has the ability to provide effective oversight of the TVA and its management and executives.

I have asked TVA for salary transparency time and time again but have been refused information beyond that of the five highest-paid employees included in their annual SEC disclosure, which does indicate that the head of TVA makes $10 million. That is, in my

opinion, too much for a public employee, even if it is a quasi-public employee. The fact is, when this gentleman, who is a good gentleman, was working in Canada when we hired him, he was earning $2 million managing a utility. When he came to Tennessee, he followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, and his salary crept up to $10 million.

Congress should have oversight, and the public should know what people are being paid. There are quite a few people being paid multimillions of dollars, not what F.D.R. envisioned when he helped pass the TVA bill back in the days of F.D.R.'s administration.

TVA's mission to make life better for the people in the Tennessee Valley is still there. We strayed from it in some ways. Hopefully, this bill is a vote for a more transparent and more accountable, better TVA.

It is going to give TVA a new deal, the New Deal they were originally passed under.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 4693, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, first, I would have to say in the spirit of Elvis: ``Thank you, thank you very much.'' That is nice company to be put into, with Stax, Al Green, and barbecue.

I thank Mr. Burchett for his work. In fact, this morning, Mr. Burchett's picture was in The Commercial Appeal looking up at the solar eclipse. He had glasses on, though; that was a good thing.

This is a good bill. I appreciate all the help we have had to get it to this point. The public deserves to see what the salaries are of the people serving in the public sector of the TVA.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4693) to provide that the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 does not apply to certain reports required to be submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 4693.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4693, the Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act. This legislation simply reinstates an annual reporting requirement for the Tennessee Valley Authority to disclose to Congress the salaries for upper-level management.

I thank Representatives Cohen and Burchett for their bipartisan work on this legislation, which passed out of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure by voice vote this last year.

The bill continues years of work to make the TVA more transparent for its customers and the communities that it obviously serves.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 4693, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), one of the cosponsors of this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4693, the Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act, is a commonsense piece of legislation that is going to help increase transparency at the TVA and ensure that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee can conduct appropriate oversight over the agency's actions.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4693, the Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act.

The Tennessee Valley Authority controls a vital part of east Tennesseans' lives. It controls how they get energy, Mr. Speaker. If my constituents are going to rely on TVA every day, they deserve to know how TVA is spending its money. They deserve to know with certainty that TVA is doing right by them.

My first bill in Congress focused on transparency in TVA and, dadgummit, I have been proud to partner with my friend, Congressman Steve Cohen, on several bills over the past few years on that very issue.

This bill, the Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act, would make sure the public has access to information about the salaries of employees at TVA. If government money flows into it, Mr. Speaker, we ought to know what they are paying and who they are paying. These are the GS-15 level or above. My constituents and all the Tennessee Valley should know exactly what the high earners at TVA are really making.

Transparency has been a problem for TVA in the past, but it has been getting better recently. I want to make sure that that pattern continues. This bill will help make that happen.

The Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act will help Congress keep TVA accountable for how it pays its employees, which is an important part of preserving the public trust.

I thank my friend and colleague, Steve Cohen, for his hard work. When I think of Memphis, I think of barbecue, Stax Records, Elvis, Al Green, and Steve Cohen. I thank him for working with me on this bill, and I strongly encourage all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4693, an act to provide the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 does not apply to certain reports required to be submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other purposes, and the bill be referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.