[Senate Hearing 117-293]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-293

                HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF BETH PRICHARD 
                 GEER, ROBERT P. KLEIN, AND L. MICHELLE MOORE TO 
                 BE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE 
                 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY, AND BEN R. WAGNER 
                 TO BE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE TENNESSEE VAL-
                 LEY AUTHORITY

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                      SUBCOMMITTEE ON CLEAN AIR, 
                      CLIMATE, AND NUCLEAR SAFETY

                                 OF THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                      ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             APRIL 6, 2022

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
  
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                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
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               COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont                 Virginia, 
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island         Ranking Member
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama
MARK KELLY, Arizona                  JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
ALEX PADILLA, California             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
                                     DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
                                     JONI ERNST, Iowa
                                     LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina

             Mary Frances Repko, Democratic Staff Director
               Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director
               
                             ----------                              

         Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety

               EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts, Chairman
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma, 
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont                 Ranking Member
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island     KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
ALEX PADILLA, California             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware (ex       JONI ERNST, Iowa
    officio)                         LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
                                     SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
                                         Virginia (ex officio)
                           
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                             APRIL 6, 2022
                           OPENING STATEMENTS

Markey, Hon. Edward J., U.S. Senator from the State of 
  Massachusetts..................................................     1
Inhofe, Hon. James M., U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma...     3
Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware..     4

                               WITNESSES

Geer, Beth Prichard, nominated to be a Member of the Board of 
  Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority....................     6
    Prepared statement...........................................     9
    Response to an additional question from Senator Markey.......    11
Klein, Robert P., nominated to be a Member of the Board of 
  Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority....................    12
    Prepared statement...........................................    14
    Response to an additional question from:
        Senator Markey...........................................    16
        Senator Boozman..........................................    16
Moore, L. Michelle, nominated to be a Member of the Board of 
  Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority....................    18
    Prepared statement...........................................    20
    Response to an additional question from Senator Markey.......    22
Wagner, Ben R., nominated to be Inspector General of the 
  Tennessee Valley Authority.....................................    23
    Prepared statement...........................................    25

                          ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

Letter to Senators Markey and Inhofe from the International 
  Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, April 5, 2022...............    41

 
HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF BETH PRICHARD GEER, ROBERT P. KLEIN, AND 
   L. MICHELLE MOORE TO BE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE 
 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY, AND BEN R. WAGNER TO BE INSPECTOR GENERAL 
                   OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

                               U.S. Senate,
         Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                        Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate,
                                        and Nuclear Safety,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee, met, pursuant to notice, at 2:26 p.m. in 
room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Edward J. Markey 
(Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
    Present: Senators Markey, Inhofe, Carper, Capito, Cramer, 
and Ernst.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY, 
          U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

    Senator Markey. I would like to note that there is a 
history breaking moment that has just occurred. A Senate 
committee started 5 minutes early, so I just want everyone to 
note that it can happen. A little bit miraculous, but 
nonetheless, it will benefit everyone.
    I want to thank my Ranking Member, Senator Inhofe, and to 
the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Environment 
and Public Works, Senator Carper and Senator Capito, for their 
invaluable partnership in holding this hearing and for joining 
us today. It is my pleasure to welcome my colleagues on the 
Subcommittee as well as our four extremely qualified nominees 
for leadership and oversight roles at the Tennessee Valley 
Authority. We welcome them to our Subcommittee today.
    The core mission of the TVA is just as relevant today as it 
was when the Authority was created nearly 90 years ago. In 
1933, Congress created the TVA to unleash the potential of the 
rich resources of the Tennessee Valley region and improve the 
lives of the people who live there.
    While the mission of the TVA remains the same today, there 
is more that the Authority can do to ensure that it serves its 
intended role as a national leader in technological innovation, 
low cost power, and environmental stewardship, the mission of 
the TVA.
    In addition to providing flood control, navigation, and 
land management for the Tennessee River System and assisting 
local and regional economic development efforts, the TVA also 
serves as the Nation's largest public power provider. With 10 
million customers, TVA can and should foster the kind of 
innovation that can diversify the region's energy resources, 
grow union jobs, and reduce consumers' energy burdens, improve 
energy reliability and affordability, and protect the 
environment at the same time.
    While only 3 percent of TVA's energy portfolio is comprised 
of wind and solar, the Authority has the opportunity to advance 
the development and adoption of both utility scale and 
distributed clean energy in the region, creating jobs and 
lowering customers' energy bills as the cost of renewable 
energy starts outcompeting fossil fuels.
    Since most of the States that are in the TVA are very sunny 
most of the year, it actually doesn't make any sense that they 
don't have a higher percentage of solar. And since it is very 
windy in many parts of the TVA, because it is so vast, it is 
shocking that they don't have a higher percentage of wind. It 
is almost as though it is still the 1930s and there hasn't been 
any real progress in terms of the implementation of real change 
in those States.
    Senator Inhofe. We have more wind in Oklahoma.
    Senator Markey. Oklahoma, to its credit, has a higher 
percentage of wind generated electricity than the TVA does, and 
it is not a federally subsidized agency the way the TVA is. So 
we are looking for real progress, following on the Oklahoma 
model, so that there is a balance of all of these technologies.
    Unfortunately, the TVA has pushed for several decades more 
fossil fuel energy at the expense of potentially cheaper 
renewable sources, which pollutes our communities and 
exacerbates energy burdens for TVA customers who already pay 
some of the highest electricity bills in the Nation as a 
percentage of household income.
    The TVA Board of Directors will make important decisions 
about TVA's energy planning for years to come. And it is 
critical that the Board is comprised of leaders who will ensure 
that the TVA provides all Tennessee Valley households with 
access to reliable, clean, and affordable electricity while 
continuing to employ local workers in good paying jobs and 
supporting economic development in the region.
    I believe that the nominees before us today, who are 
extremely qualified for these positions, will be well equipped 
to consider these important questions in their service on the 
TVA Board and as TVA Inspector General. The addition of Ms. 
Geer, Mr. Klein, and Ms. Moore to the TVA Board of Directors 
would provide welcome leadership to the TVA as it works to 
continue providing power generation, flood management capacity, 
and economic development to the millions of Americans living in 
the Tennessee Valley. The timely confirmation of these nominees 
is critical to ensuring that the TVA Board of Directors has the 
quorum it needs to carry off its duties.
    The Board currently has five members, with four vacancies. 
The terms of two of the five current TVA Board members will 
expire next month, potentially leaving the Board two members 
short of a quorum after the end of this year. To avoid such a 
scenario, the Committee must soon advance the confirmation of 
these eminently qualified nominees.
    In addition to strong leadership on the TVA Board of 
Directors, I am confident that Mr. Wagner would provide 
important independent oversight as the Inspector General of the 
TVA. Mr. Wagner is a 38 year veteran of the TVA, with decades 
of experience within the Office of Inspector General. If 
confirmed, his deep knowledge of the TVA and the role of the 
Inspector General will allow him to provide invaluable 
leadership to this critical office.
    I would also like to congratulate Ms. Geer, Mr. Klein, and 
Ms. Moore, and Mr. Wagner on their nominations, and I look 
forward to hearing from all of you today.
    Before we turn to our witnesses for their testimony, I want 
to turn to the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, Senator 
Inhofe, for his opening statement.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES M. INHOFE, 
            U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

    Senator Inhofe. What might surprise a lot of you is that we 
have served together, in the House and in the Senate, and we 
are very close friends, even though he is wrong on a few 
issues.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Inhofe. But we have enjoyed--I have to say the same 
thing is true with Mr. Carper. I have chaired this Committee 
also, and we have always--this is the Committee that actually 
does get things done. I used to say that when we would have our 
bipartisan meetings.
    Anyway, while my home State of Oklahoma is not part of the 
TVA region, having been a former Chairman of this Committee, I 
have come to know and appreciate the vital role that TVA plays 
in the States of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, 
Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia.
    With that in mind, geographic representation at our 
agencies cannot be overlooked. I share the concern of my 
colleagues from Kentucky and Mississippi who are disappointed 
by President Biden's highly unusual decision not to put forward 
nominations to the TVA Board from those particular States, two 
States.
    It is past time that the President put forward nominees 
from these States. The TVA keeps the lights on for nearly 10 
million Americans, and it does so with an all of the above 
energy approach to power generation, which includes fossil 
fuels. Today, fossil fuels make up over 40 percent of TVA's 
electricity generation portfolio, while wind and solar account 
for just 3 percent. The calls to eliminate fossil fuels from 
the power sector are foolish and would be devastating for the 
American people by increasing already sky high utility bills 
and create greater unreliability for the electric grid.
    Last month, media reports indicated that the TVA intends to 
invest over $3.5 billion in new natural gas burning electric 
plants. This is a smart investment because when the sun isn't 
shining and the wind isn't blowing, we require fuels like 
natural gas that are far more reliable and affordable when 
compared to intermittent renewable sources. The TVA must not be 
weaponized to pursue a radical Green New Deal inspired agenda 
that forgoes reliability and affordability and fossil fuels for 
its power supply in the name of climate alarmism.
    It is my hope that these nominees recognize the need for 
fossil fuels and the restrictions, I might add, that they are 
under to no fault or credit of their own.
    I look forward to carrying on with this, Mr. Chairman, OK?
    Senator Markey. And I thank you, my good friend from 
Oklahoma, even though I am the author of the Green New Deal. I 
didn't take any of that criticism personally.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Markey. I just understand it is a historical debate 
he and I have had for 35 years on all of these issues.
    Senator Inhofe. We both have thick skin, right?
    Senator Markey. Absolutely. You are in the wrong business 
if you don't.
    Let me turn and recognize the Chairman. We are fortunate to 
be graced with the presence of the Chairman of the full 
Committee, Senator Carper.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 
            U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

    Senator Carper. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
    Thanks to our Ranking Member.
    Thanks to each of you for the good work you have done with 
your lives to date. We have had a chance to learn and read a 
good deal about you, and we are just honored that you are 
willing to serve in these roles.
    I met earlier this week here with the man who heads up the 
Delaware Electric Co-op in Delaware. And there is, as you know, 
a number of electric co-ops in States across the country. In 
many cases, they partner together and work together to try to 
provide reliable, affordable energy for businesses and for 
families across great parts of our country. They are also 
trying, at least in my neck of the woods, trying to do so in 
ways that recognize that we face terrific challenges with way 
too much carbon dioxide in the air, and that we need to do 
something about it.
    The greatest source of emissions, carbon emissions, in our 
country comes from our cars, trucks, and vans, and we have the 
technology. I now drive an electric vehicle after driving a 
2001 Town and Country Chrysler for 600,000 miles. Finally, I 
sold it for a dollar, and now I drive an electric vehicle. I 
drive by gas stations that say gas is four bucks a gallon. 
Times have changed, and I have changed.
    We are hopeful that the change is literally underway in the 
ways that TVA provides electricity to its customers across 
great parts of our country, that you will continue to make 
those changes. We need you to.
    I especially need you to, I will just mention, Delaware, we 
are the lowest lying State in America, the lowest lying State 
in America. Our State is sinking. The waters around us are 
rising.
    My wife and I were in Florida not long ago, in part of 
Miami. It was right after NOAA, the National Oceanographic and 
Atmospheric Administration, had just come out with a recent 
report that said, if you think sea level rise over the last 100 
years has been scary and bad, it is going to get a lot worse a 
lot sooner. So these are all issues that are before us, and in 
a way, directly and indirectly, it will be before you. I would 
just ask that you keep those in mind as you go forward.
    Thank you. It is great to see you. I hope the service that 
you are about to begin will bring you great joy in your lives 
and into the lives of those you serve.
    Thank you so much.
    [The prepared statement of Senator Carper follows:]

                  Statement of Hon. Thomas R. Carper, 
                U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware

    Today, we welcome four deeply qualified individuals 
nominated to serve on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) 
Board of Directors and as the TVA Inspector General to the 
Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. As EPW Chairman, 
I thank each of them for their willingness to serve and look 
forward to today's discussion.
    For some time, I have encouraged leadership at TVA to do 
all they can to make TVA an industry leader, not a laggard, 
when it comes to clean energy, energy efficiency, and industry 
safety. Today will be no different.
    Winston Churchill is credited with saying, ``The farther 
back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.'' 
So let us look back at TVA's history. TVA was established in 
the 1930s to revitalize what was then one of the poorest 
regions of the country by bringing affordable, reliable 
electricity to the Tennessee River Valley. The utility was also 
charged with providing flood control, supporting farmers, and 
modernizing the region to support its economic vitality. Today, 
TVA is the Nation's largest government owned energy provider, 
supplying power to more than 10 million people and supporting 
economic development throughout the Tennessee Valley.
    Being a Federal corporation means greater responsibility 
and accountability. It also means that the public and Congress 
expect the best. That is why TVA should be at the forefront of 
ensuring fair prices for ratepayers, incentivizing energy 
efficiency, and transitioning swiftly toward cleaner energy 
generation. While TVA has already made some progress toward a 
clean energy transition, other private utilities have far 
surpassed TVA's clean energy and energy efficiency commitments. 
TVA can and must do more, and it all starts with leadership.
    In creating the current nine member Board of Directors for 
TVA, Congress was very clear that each Board member shall 
support TVA's mission. This includes being ``a national leader 
in technological innovation, low cost power, and environmental 
stewardship.'' In meeting with Ms. Geer, Mr. Klein, and Ms. 
Moore, I believe they would rise to this challenge and bring 
excellent leadership to the TVA Board of Directors if 
confirmed. I also believe that Mr. Wagner would be objective 
and independent as TVA's Inspector General if confirmed.
    In closing, I hope that we can quickly confirm each of 
these nominees. In doing so, we will ensure the TVA Board of 
Directors does not lose its quorum and provide quality 
leadership for the Board during a critical time. In the 
meantime, I also encourage the President to consider future 
nominees from unrepresented States within TVA's service area. 
With that, I look forward to hearing more from the nominees and 
how each of them, if confirmed, would ensure TVA is the gold 
standard of utilities.
    Thank you.

    Senator Markey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much.
    Now, we will turn to our witnesses. First, we are going to 
hear from Beth Geer, who has been nominated to serve as a 
member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley 
Authority. Ms. Geer is a native of rural Tennessee, and 
graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, the same as our 
former colleague, Bart Gordon, a good friend of ours and a very 
focused, technology oriented guy. She is currently a resident 
of Brentwood, Tennessee, along with her husband, Dr. John Geer. 
Ms. Geer is Chief of Staff to former Vice President Al Gore and 
a member of the Nashville Mayor John Cooper's Sustainability 
Advisory Committee.
    Next, we are going to hear from Robert Klein, who is also 
nominated to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the 
Tennessee Valley Authority. Mr. Klein is a lifelong resident of 
Chattanooga and served in the Tennessee Army National Guard. 
Mr. Klein has worked at or with the electrical utility industry 
throughout his whole career as a lineman, as a line foreman. He 
served as International Vice President of the International 
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and as President of the 
Tennessee Valley Trades and Labor Council for 14 years.
    After that, we are going to hear from Michelle Moore, who 
is also nominated to serve as a member of the Board of 
Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. She is from rural 
Georgia and currently serves as the CEO of Groundswell, a non-
profit that supports communities with clean energy and 
resilience programs to provide power savings and economic 
opportunity among more than 4,000 families.
    Finally, we are going to hear from Ben Wagner, the nominee 
for the position of Inspector General for the Tennessee Valley 
Authority. He has spent 38 years working at the TVA, including 
31 years within the office of the Inspector General, giving him 
extensive experience with auditing, risk management, fraud, 
risk assessment, ethics, and compliance, and organizational 
effectiveness assessments. Mr. Wagner was born in New Mexico, 
but has lived in the Tennessee Valley region for most of his 
life.
    We welcome all of you.
    We will begin with you, Ms. Geer, whenever you are 
comfortable. Please begin.

 STATEMENT OF BETH PRICHARD GEER, NOMINATED TO BE A MEMBER OF 
    THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

    Ms. Geer. Thank you, Senator.
    Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Capito, Chairman Markey, 
Ranking Member Inhofe, and distinguished members of the 
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you 
today. My name is Beth Prichard Geer, and I have the great 
honor of being nominated to the Tennessee Valley Authority 
Board of Directors.
    With me today, I have my husband, Dr. John Geer, and my 
son, Frederick Albert.
    I am a daughter of Tennessee. My family has been in 
Tennessee for over a century, and we have put down deep roots. 
One of the reasons we have been able to make Tennessee home is 
the Tennessee Valley Authority. The TVA gave rise to the 
economic prosperity that allowed my family to build a better 
life.
    For generations, we were reliant on coal. My great-
grandparents, farmers like their parents before them, saved 
their few dollars to travel from my hometown of Alexandria to 
nearby Brush Creek to buy coal as it came off the train. They 
would burn it in the fireplace, use coal oil lamps, and receive 
coal as Christmas gifts from their children.
    My family worked hard to make a better life. Their lives 
changed for the better in the 1930s, in part due to the 
reliable and affordable power provided by the TVA.
    With more economic opportunities in the region, their 
children, my grandparents, were able to start a small business, 
buy a house, and send their children to college. Years later, 
when my grandfather sold the business, my dad had to make a 
career transition in mid-life. It was hard on him and my 
family.
    Those lessons also remain with me today. As the economy 
changes today, and as energy sources in the Tennessee Valley 
shift, I want to make sure people are supported if they too 
face job transitions. Being sensitive to the impact TVA has on 
people's lives matters deeply to me. It is not something I take 
for granted.
    I am proud to be from a rural town of 900 in DeKalb County. 
I am also proud of how far our small communities have come and 
how much further they can go with the assistance of the TVA. It 
is important to have Board members who understand rural 
regions, for more than 85 percent of Valley communities are 
designated as a Rural or Special Opportunity County. TVA has 
done a lot to bring capital investment and good paying jobs to 
rural areas through programs tailored to meet their needs, 
needs that I know well.
    Much of a rural town's growth is linked to economic 
progress and innovation, like in the field of renewable energy. 
Renewable energy has long been part of TVA's energy portfolio. 
Through my work with Vice President Al Gore for most of my 
adult life, I have had the privilege of collaborating with the 
world's foremost environmental experts, gaining a first hand 
view on how different regions and countries approach 
conservancy, and then bringing that knowledge home. I have 
extensive policy and outreach experience on climate change and 
regenerative agriculture, and I am confident that if I were to 
serve as a member of the Board, my knowledge and my many 
contacts at home and abroad could contribute to the TVA's goal 
of achieving net zero carbon emissions.
    The financial success of renewable energy is something I 
observe daily in my current work, and it is why the 
sustainability revolution may now be the most significant 
investing and business opportunity in the world. For example, 
Ford Motor Company recently picked the Tennessee Valley as its 
largest, most advanced, and most efficient auto production 
campus in Ford's history because of the affordable, reliable, 
and clean energy the TVA provides.
    Sustainability makes sense for our environment and for our 
economy, too. The TVA's success in creating prosperous 
communities, both rural and urban, is driven in part by nearly 
nine decades of innovation, but also by building relationships 
and by working together.
    I have dedicated my life to public service. And central to 
that service has been my ability to bring people together. I 
have worked in community and investor relations for several 
private companies and managed communications at Cumberland 
University in Lebanon, Tennessee, where I was happy to help 
reconnect the university with its community. I will bring that 
same commitment to the entire Tennessee Valley if I am 
confirmed as a TVA Board member.
    In closing, I firmly believe that doing what is best for 
all the people of the Tennessee Valley is what matters. TVA's 
aim to make our region the best place in the country to live, 
work, and raise a family is as important to me today as it was 
to my family before me.
    I appreciate your consideration of my nomination and thank 
you, once again, for the opportunity.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Geer follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Markey. Thank you so much, Ms. Geer.
    Mr. Klein, whenever you are ready.

 STATEMENT OF ROBERT P. KLEIN, NOMINATED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE 
      BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

    Mr. Klein. Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Capito, Chairman 
Markey, Ranking Member Inhofe, and members of the Committee, 
thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
    I am honored to be nominated by President Biden to serve on 
the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors. I would also 
like to acknowledge and thank Senator Blackburn and Senator 
Hagerty from my home State of Tennessee for their service to 
the State and support of TVA and me throughout this 
confirmation process.
    I have been a lifelong resident of the Tennessee Valley, 
having been born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I have 
been privileged to have worked with the electrical utility 
industry my entire adult life. Working at the Electric Power 
Board of Chattanooga as a journeyman lineman and line foreman, 
I gained the knowledge and skill to construct and maintain 
transmission and distribution power systems, thus educating me 
on the operational side of the industry.
    As an international representative and International Vice 
President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical 
Workers, I had the opportunity to work with many utilities in 
the Southeast, including TVA.
    In all my years of working with TVA, I never lost sight of 
the fact that for all residents of the valley to prosper, TVA 
had to be successful. Clean, sustainable, and competitive 
energy stimulates the economy and grows jobs. I have the 
experience and knowledge to be an asset to TVA, and most 
importantly, the mission of TVA, to serve the people of the 
valley by providing low cost energy, environmental stewardship, 
and economic development.
    In working with and looking at the history of TVA, it is 
evident that its leadership and employees have been committed 
to its mission from the beginning. I have witnessed the impact 
they have had on my community, not only from the provision of 
energy resources, but also through river navigation and flood 
control, recreational activities, economic development 
opportunities, and service to this community through its 
leadership and shared resources. I believe the strength of the 
TVA is the people who work there.
    During my career, I participated in joint training and 
safety programs of the TVA. Their four core values of safety, 
integrity, inclusion, and service were never compromised, and 
to this day reflects their longstanding mission and dedication 
toward their employees. TVA's work force has been an important 
and vital component in the success of the agency, from the 
first hydro plant built, the first construction of their 
transmission grid, to the completion of the most recent nuclear 
plant to come online in the United States. I am committed to a 
skilled, trained, and diverse work force within the agency.
    TVA is an important player in the United States' electrical 
system. Its position as a government owned public utility 
poises TVA to be a leader in technology and innovation for the 
Nation, allowing the United States and the Southeast, in 
particular, to contribute to our collective goals of 
decarbonization. If confirmed, I would support TVA's guiding 
principles to reduce carbon emissions and look for projects 
that could potentially lead the way in further reductions.
    I am aware of TVA's interest in exploring the building of a 
small, modular nuclear reactor near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This 
project represents what could become the Nation's next 
generation of nuclear plants.
    With my background in the industry, I also know that asset 
changes in the utility sector impact the men and women that 
have kept our lights on over the years. I am sensitive to this, 
and if confirmed, I am committed to working with the leadership 
to ensure employees are given ample opportunity to be retrained 
and are offered positions elsewhere within the agency.
    If confirmed to serve on the TVA Board, I am committed to 
move TVA forward in a path that addresses not only interests I 
have mentioned, but other areas that will help them to fulfill 
its mission of service to the industry, distributors, and 
economic development and to bring prosperity to all inhabitants 
of the valley. I believe my experience in the electrical 
utility industry, specifically public power, has prepared me 
for the challenge and responsibility of joining the TVA Board.
    Mr. Chairman and members of this Committee, I welcome this 
opportunity, and I am honored and humbled to be considered to 
serve on the TVA Board of Directors. I appreciate your 
consideration of my nomination, and again, thank you for the 
opportunity to be before you today.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Klein follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Markey. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
    Next, we are going to hear from Michelle Moore.
    Welcome.

STATEMENT OF L. MICHELLE MOORE, NOMINATED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE 
      BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

    Ms. Moore. Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Capito, Chairman 
Markey, Ranking Member Inhofe, and distinguished members of the 
Committee, I am grateful for the opportunity to appear here 
before you today. My name is Michelle Moore, and I am honored 
to have been nominated by President Biden to the Tennessee 
Valley Authority Board of Directors.
    I would also like to express gratitude to my mentors, Diane 
Dillon-Ridgely, Anthony Robinson, and Brother Mike Simmons, and 
to my Uncle Brad Knopp, who are here with me today, and to my 
dear husband, Linwood Boswell and my family watching online.
    The same three Es that drive the TVA's mission, affordable 
energy, environmental quality, and economic development, have 
inspired my sense of purpose and defined my work for more than 
20 years.
    These days, I live in Midlothian, Virginia, but LaGrange, 
Georgia, is and always will be home. I spent most of my time 
growing up there with my grandparents, who all lived on the 
same street near the cotton mills where they worked. There was 
no air conditioning in the summertime and no heat in the 
bedrooms in the winter. We kept cool with a window fan and warm 
under three generations of hand pieced quilts and hand me down 
blankets, and it was heaven.
    But whenever Mam Maw and Paw Paw would have to turn on the 
furnace to keep the pipes from freezing, they would end up with 
a $300 to $400 dollar utility bill, which on their income was 
backbreaking. It wasn't because the utility rates were high, 
but rather because their homes, which I loved, were so 
inefficient.
    I understand that the affordability of energy has to come 
first, whether viewed from my own experiences or through the 
history of TVA's formation to bring affordable power to the 
people of the Tennessee Valley. My work in the energy and 
corporate sustainability fields has been built on this 
foundation, showing at every step along the way how energy and 
environmental quality go hand in hand with fiscal 
responsibility.
    I learned how from a great business leader and teacher, Ray 
C. Anderson, the founder of Interface, Inc. When I joined his 
company in the late 1990s, Interface was a publicly traded 
Fortune 500 global carpet manufacturer based in my hometown, 
and Ray had just announced Interface's goal of becoming the 
world's first environmentally sustainable corporation.
    The company's responsibility to its shareholders and to the 
thousands of families who depended on its success for their 
financial health was always at the core of Ray's commitment. 
The strategies we pursued included reducing waste, 
reengineering manufacturing processes, and redesigning products 
to be remanufactured at the end of their useful lives. The 
results increased profits, reduced impact, built shareholder 
value, and expanded markets. Ray called it doing well by doing 
good, and I carry each and every lesson I learned from him with 
me still.
    Making the business case, in fact, is how I helped build 
the U.S. and global market for green buildings. Demonstrating 
that healthier buildings use less energy and water, cost less 
to operate over the long term, and don't cost more to build 
enabled the U.S. real estate and construction industries to 
transform themselves, creating value and supporting U.S. 
economic competitiveness in the global market.
    It is the same approach I brought to leading the Federal 
Government's sustainability efforts as the Federal 
Environmental Executive. By pairing energy and environmental 
performance with economic responsibility, initiatives I led 
reduced the Federal Government's energy bill by a projected $8 
billion. And I applied the same common sense approach to 
leading President Obama's Infrastructure Office, which reduced 
permitting timelines for hundreds of billions of dollars of 
infrastructure projects without compromising environmental 
quality.
    Today, I am focused on putting energy to work as a powerful 
strategy for economic development. Whether it is deploying 
rural energy efficiency programs that reduce bills for people 
like my grandparents while supporting local contractors and 
training new entrants into the construction trades or 
developing solar and energy storage on church rooftops that 
provide energy savings and additional resilience to the 
surrounding community, energy remains an essential source of 
economic opportunity, just as it was in 1933.
    Why I serve is more important to understand than what I 
have done. It is how I live out my faith and the commandment to 
love your neighbor as yourself, using what I know how to do, 
connecting energy with affordability, economic opportunity, and 
quality of life, to serve my community, including the people of 
the Tennessee Valley, with gratitude to God.
    If confirmed, it would be my honor to serve in this same 
spirit as a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee 
Valley Authority.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Moore follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Markey. Thank you, Ms. Moore.
    Finally, you, Mr. Wagner. Welcome.

 STATEMENT OF BEN R. WAGNER, NOMINATED TO BE INSPECTOR GENERAL 
               OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

    Mr. Wagner. Thank you, Chairman Carper, Ranking Member 
Capito, Subcommittee Chairman Markey, and Ranking Member 
Inhofe, and distinguished members of this Committee.
    I thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today 
and for making today's hearing possible. I would also like to 
thank the President for nominating me to serve as the Inspector 
General of the Tennessee Valley Authority. I am honored to be 
considered for this opportunity to serve such a great 
institution like the TVA, an institution that has had such a 
tremendous impact on the quality of life for the people living 
in the Tennessee Valley region.
    I would also like to thank my family and colleagues for 
their love and support for me over the years. I would not be 
sitting here today without their unwavering support.
    I spent most of my life living in the Tennessee Valley 
region. I have enjoyed the splendor of East Tennessee, fishing 
and boating in the beautiful TVA lakes, enjoying the 
recreational areas throughout the region. These are all areas 
where TVA profoundly impacts the people it serves and why I am 
proud of my long history with TVA and the TVA Office of the 
Inspector General.
    I graduated from the University of Tennessee with an 
accounting degree. Like many others, TVA was my first choice 
for employment after graduation. I was offered the opportunity 
to start my career at TVA at the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in 
Scottsboro, Alabama. This was an exciting time for me. I was 
able to see first hand the progress being made at one of the 
largest nuclear construction sites in the country. I worked 
with tremendously dedicated individuals and was proud to be 
associated with TVA.
    As my role changed to an independent oversight function, I 
was proud to continue to serve TVA and the people of the 
Tennessee Valley by helping to identify fraud, waste, and 
abuse, and promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. In 
total, I spent 38 years with TVA, starting in 1979 until my 
retirement in 2017, working to improve TVA operations in one 
way or another.
    In October 1985, the TVA Board of Directors created the 
Office of the Inspector General. This office was created in 
light of significant problems in the nuclear power program and 
the high volume of whistleblower complaints. I was lucky enough 
to be one of the first employees hired in this office, and I 
feel I contributed meaningfully to the successful startup of 
this crucial oversight function.
    In 2000, Congress chose to make the Inspector General 
position a presidentially appointed one in order to ensure this 
function is performed with the highest level of independence. 
Richard Moore, the first presidentially appointed IG, joined 
the office in 2003 and served as IG for 14 years. Since his 
tenure ended, interim leadership and former colleagues have 
ably led the TVA OIG for more than 4 years. Today, I am honored 
to be considered to become the second presidentially appointed 
IG at TVA.
    TVA is charged with a critical mission: Improving the 
quality of life for the people of the Tennessee Valley through 
providing low cost power, environmental stewardship, and 
economic development. The TVA has some of the lowest power 
rates in the country. TVA has been a catalyst to a dynamic 
economy, has been a leader in carbon reduction, and has 
prevented billions of dollars in damage through flood control.
    An Inspector General is charged with the critical mission 
of providing agency oversight, promoting economy, efficiency, 
and effectiveness of the agency and in identifying fraud, 
waste, and abuse. This requires IGs to perform their duties in 
a completely independent and objective manner. The work of the 
IG must be unbiased and completely factual.
    Finally, none of this will be possible without the 
hardworking team at the TVA OIG. I have mentioned a number of 
reasons I am excited about this chance to serve, but the 
opportunity to work together with the experienced, dedicated 
staff in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Huntsville, and Nashville is 
at the top of the list. If I am confirmed, it will be an honor 
to lead this team.
    Thank you for this opportunity, and I am happy to take your 
questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Wagner follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Markey. Thank you, Mr. Wagner, very much.
    Now we will turn to the panel for questions. We will begin 
by recognizing the Ranking Member of the full Committee, Ms. 
Capito.
    Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank all of 
you for your willingness to serve.
    I do want to amplify concerns of my colleagues who 
represent States in the TVA service territory. Senator Wicker, 
Leader McConnell, and others are frustrated, as I am, that 
approximately a year has passed since the President nominated 
TVA Board members, but he has still not put forth a nominee for 
Kentucky or Mississippi. We raise this issue also, 
representation from Alabama is now needed because the pending 
nominee withdrew.
    So the geographic representation on the Board is not new. 
We know that this is important to get good decisions and good 
decisionmaking for the entire Board. I am troubled by the break 
with precedent and urge the Administration to finally address 
these deficiencies by nominating qualified individuals from 
Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
    With that, I would like to ask Ms. Moore a question, to ask 
about her views on fossil energy generation, which is 40 
percent of TVA's power.
    Since your renomination this year, you have made your 
Twitter account private. But I had the opportunity to review 
tweets that were publicly available on your account last year. 
The reason I bring this up is it is sort of an unvarnished view 
of what the opinions, what your true opinions would be, maybe 
might be more frank than what we can get in a hearing.
    So very quickly, you tweeted the following in December 2018 
in response to a Wall Street Journal. The article was OPEC and 
Russia agree to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels a day, 
lifting crude prices. You said, If we moved to EVs and kept 
mileage standards high in the transition, it wouldn't matter 
that foreign dictators collude to raise oil prices to make 
themselves rich, while impoverishing others, including 
Americans. Oil is like opioids; it keeps you sick and poor. I 
come from a State where opioids are not to be trivialized, or 
the use of them.
    There is another tweet, this one is a similar tone. You 
tweeted, for example, that fossil fuels like oil and gas are 
not safe at any stage of their life cycle.
    So how would you respond to that if you are going to serve 
on a board that has 40 percent fossil fuels as their power 
generation?
    Ms. Moore. Thank you so much for your question, Senator. My 
first response to that would just be the spirit in which I 
would undertake any decisions or any consideration of future 
fossil choices by TVA and TVA's current diverse mix. And that 
would be, No. 1, with a spirit of gratitude. I know that fossil 
fuels helped to fuel the Industrial Revolution, helped to bring 
countless families out of poverty, and also helped to bring us 
closer together by fueling our vehicles and fueling airplanes. 
And if blessed to be confirmed to serve on the TVA Board of 
Directors, I would also approach any decisions absolutely in 
the spirit of the mission of the TVA, which is to balance 
economic development, environmental quality, and maintaining 
affordable energy, including resilient, reliable energy for the 
future.
    Senator Capito. So when you say that oil and gas are not 
safe at any stage of their lifestyle, you are kind of going 
away from that in the statement that you are making right now?
    Ms. Moore. I don't think that having gratitude for the good 
work that oil and gas have done for not just American society 
but human civilization is in conflict with looking toward the 
future where we have abundant, additional sources of energy and 
new technologies that are emerging that enable us to move 
forward.
    Senator Capito. Thank you for that. I would point out that 
TVA, the purchase renewal over the last 3 years, hasn't even 
gone up. It is only at 5 percent. So that presents a challenge.
    So for my final minute, I would like to yield to my 
colleague from Iowa, Senator Ernst.
    Senator Ernst. Thank you, Senator Capito.
    Ms. Geer, as you stated in your written testimony, you 
believe one reason you should be confirmed to serve in the TVA, 
the Tennessee Valley, is because of your ability to ``build 
relationships and work together.'' Is that correct?
    Ms. Geer. Thank you, Senator. Yes, that is correct.
    Senator Ernst. And you believe civility is a fundamental 
aspect of your role on the Tennessee Valley Board, if 
confirmed?
    Ms. Geer. I absolutely do, Senator.
    Senator Ernst. Yes, and thank you for answering those 
questions honestly. I think it appears to be a recent 
sentiment. If you will take a look at the tweet that we also 
found, that is me with darker hair, much shorter, in 2015. So 
you can see that Beth Geer tweeted out @FoxNews and 
@SenatorJoniErnst, ``hideous.'' Can you explain that tweet?
    Ms. Geer. I can't read it. I apologize. That is not a way 
of getting out of answering the question. But what----
    Senator Ernst. I just read it to you.
    Ms. Geer. I heard that. Sorry. But what was the quote?
    Senator Ernst. The quote is, ``The new Republican Congress 
also understands how difficult these past 6 years have been,'' 
from my State of the Union response in 2015.
    Senator Markey. Senator Capito's time has expired, so we 
will allow you to answer the question, but then we have to move 
on to the next witness, so please.
    Ms. Geer. OK. I apologize if I offended you, and I 
appreciate your bringing it to my attention. I do in fact 
believe that civility is key, and I am sorry that I did not 
demonstrate that in your opinion with that tweet.
    Senator Markey. And if Senator Ernst would like to----
    [Simultaneous conversations.]
    Senator Markey. You could return to be recognized on your 
own time.
    Senator Ernst. I will wait; thank you, Senator.
    Senator Markey. After Senator Inhofe and I are recognized, 
you will be recognized on your own time.
    So now we are ready to move back to regular order. We just 
have a number of questions, standing questions, that have to be 
answered. I am going to work my way across all of the nominees.
    Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear before this Committee 
or designated members of this Committee and other appropriate 
committees of the Congress and provide information with respect 
to your responsibilities, subject to appropriate and necessary 
security protections?
    Ms. Geer.
    Ms. Geer. Yes, sir.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Klein.
    Mr. Klein. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Markey. Ms. Moore.
    Ms. Moore. Yes, sir.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Wagner.
    Mr. Wagner. Yes.
    Senator Markey. Do you agree to ensure that testimony, 
briefings, documents, and electronic and other forms of 
communication of information are provided to this Committee and 
its staff and other appropriate committees in a timely manner?
    Ms. Geer.
    Ms. Geer. Yes.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Klein.
    Mr. Klein. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Markey. Ms. Moore.
    Ms. Moore. Yes.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Wagner.
    Mr. Wagner. Yes.
    Senator Markey. Do you know of any matters which you may or 
may not have disclosed that might place you in a conflict of 
interest if you are confirmed?
    Ms. Geer.
    Ms. Geer. No, sir.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Klein.
    Mr. Klein. No, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Markey. Ms. Moore.
    Ms. Moore. No, sir.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Wagner.
    Mr. Wagner. No.
    Senator Markey. Thank you.
    Now we will begin with a round of questions. And I would 
like to begin with a conversation to talk about clean energy 
and the TVA Board, which in my opinion has implemented some 
policies that may have made it harder for households and local 
power companies to make clean energy investments. And I am 
deeply concerned about the impact that such decisions could 
have on affordability, long term resilience of our energy 
system, and our meeting our targets to address dangerous 
climate change.
    Ms. Geer, in your work on energy and sustainability, have 
you found that low cost, clean energy can bring down costs, 
support grid resilience, and also support our climate and 
environmental goals?
    Ms. Geer. Yes, sir, I have. I think that we are learning 
daily, pretty much, that clean energy cost is coming down, 
which I think is also an important factor to point out.
    Senator Markey. I thank you.
    I am troubled by the TVA record. I will just give you a few 
numbers. In the United States last year, 13 percent of all 
electricity came from wind and solar, up from pretty much zero 
in 2009. So it is really growing fast. And in Massachusetts, it 
was up to 16 percent were renewables, and 14 percent of all our 
electricity in Massachusetts was solar last year. And we are 
not the perfectly sunny State. We are the perfectly cloudy 
State. Yet we figured out how to go to 14 percent for solar, 
and we continue to rise and rise and rise in Massachusetts.
    We watch ads, by the way, we watch ads on TV on a daily 
basis that we are living in the wrong State, that we should be 
moving down to Tennessee and Alabama and all these sunny 
States, please leave Massachusetts where it is too cloudy, and 
move down there. Then those States, through the TVA, do not 
invest in renewables. In fact, the renewables--this is 
unbelievable--3 percent in the Tennessee Valley Authority. That 
is it. It is a pretty sad number, to be honest with you. Very, 
very sad. If Massachusetts can do 14 percent solar, 3 percent 
wind and solar for the Tennessee Valley Authority is sad given 
the state of technological innovation that TVA has historically 
prided itself on.
    How much better do you think the TVA should do, Ms. Geer, 
in renewables?
    Ms. Geer. Thank you, Senator. Well, I think we have to do a 
lot better. While I am not in a position right now to know 
about the entire asset portfolio, I certainly share your 
concern about the deployment of additional clean energy and of 
course, your concern about mitigating climate change. I think 
we have work to do. I, and if confirmed, I can pledge to you 
that I will make it my business to see that the Board considers 
all options.
    Senator Markey. I think that is very important.
    Mr. Klein, how do you feel about it? Three percent, maybe a 
percent and a half wind, a percent and a half solar, what do 
you think the goals should be for the TVA?
    Mr. Klein. Thank you, Senator. I understand your concern, 
but I don't know that I can say today what I feel like TVA's 
goals should be. However, I am committed to staying within the 
framework of the TVA Act and that is to provide affordable, 
reliable, sustainable electricity to the inhabitants of the 
valley.
    Senator Markey. Do you think wind and solar are reliable 
and sustainable? The whole country is now at 13 percent wind 
and solar. Massachusetts is up to 16 percent. Do you think, in 
your experience, do you think you can have a significantly 
higher percentage of wind and solar and meet those goals?
    Mr. Klein. Yes, sir, I think we could. And I am committed 
to exploring renewable energy resources.
    Senator Markey. Great.
    How about you, Ms. Moore?
    Ms. Moore. Thank you so much for the question, Senator. At 
this point, I don't have enough information about the specific 
path forward for TVA. But I know that as we pursued 
decarbonization, including the decarbonization commitments that 
TVA currently has made. And we consider the decarbonization 
goals that President Biden has set for the economy writ large 
as well. TVA's statutory mandate, to maintain that marriage 
between affordable energy, economic development, and 
environmental quality, it gives us a really beautiful and 
prescient framework for moving forward toward a future where 
renewables and new technologies, like energy storage, play a 
larger role in the TVA's portfolio.
    Senator Markey. I would just hope that--I just don't like 
TVA falling so far behind the rest of the Nation. I grew up 
thinking TVA was the state of the art. It is pretty obvious 
that there is no movement here technologically. That is kind of 
the special message that you always receive about the TVA, and 
I just hope that that changes in the future. Because everyone 
else is moving that way, and the TVA seems like it is last in 
the whole country. I am hoping that you are not happy with 
that. It is a real opportunity for you.
    Let me turn now and recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. 
Inhofe.
    Senator Inhofe. Before we start my time, it is my intention 
to give my neighbor over here my time, first round anyway. All 
right?
    Senator Markey. Absolutely.
    Senator Ernst. So, Ms. Geer, we will go back to the tweet. 
Maybe you have had time to refresh your memory a little bit. I 
am not sure if you have made a habit of calling women that 
disagree with you hideous, or if it was simply an exception. 
But please let me be very clear. I stand by everything that I 
said in my State of the Union response back in 2015.
    Folks, this tweet is from 2015. You heard a lot about 
tweets in the former Administration. This is prior to that. 
This is not Iowa nice, folks, and I am calling you out.
    So in my speech, I stated that we should move forward with 
the Keystone Pipeline, a decision that President Biden 
reversed, and which has played a role in the rising costs 
Americans pay at the pump. I talked about the importance of 
confronting terrorism, and threats like Al Qaeda and the 
Taliban, who under this Administration is now back in charge of 
Afghanistan. I discussed my own experience as the first female 
combat veteran to serve in the Senate, and how we must always 
honor and care for our veterans, something President Biden has 
touted as part of his unity agenda.
    Ms. Geer, when you called me hideous, were you referring to 
my appearance, or to the views that I held and are held by many 
Americans across this country?
    Ms. Geer. Thank you for the question and for the 
clarification. Obviously, I was not calling you personally 
hideous, and certainly not your appearance. Again, I apologize 
if it came across that way. I mean no disrespect.
    Senator Ernst. Ma'am, I will cut you off right there. How 
else could this come across? The word hideous to me only has 
one meaning. And the views I expressed in my State of the Union 
response were personal experiences. So maybe you didn't 
appreciate that I grew up on a small, rural farm in an 
economically disadvantaged area of Iowa. Maybe you didn't like 
that my mother had to put bread bags on my shoes when I went to 
school. Maybe you didn't like that. But a lot of Americans have 
had the same experiences that I have had.
    So to call my personal views as hideous is an affront to 
half of America. So I have no further questions for you. But I 
appreciate your time and attention today. But I think in a 
world that is begging for civility, we should give them that 
civility. And I don't know that you can bring that to this 
Tennessee Valley Board.
    So you know I am a no, and we will see how your nomination 
goes. I am ranked, just for benefit of those that are here, I 
am ranked as one of the most bipartisan Senators of either 
party in the last 25 years, out of all of the Senators that 
have served, one of the most bipartisan. I think it is 
important that we all work together. But when you are starting 
off on a foot like this, it is really hard for us all to work 
together.
    Thank you, Ranking Member.
    Senator Markey. Senator Inhofe.
    Senator Inhofe. Yes, let me continue on; I would say to Ms. 
Geer, Ms. Moore, and Mr. Klein, that I referenced in my opening 
statement the reports that the TVA plans to expand investment 
in natural gas powered generation. I think we are all aware of 
that now. A lot of statements were made about that. Now I am 
going forward. The TVA must maintain fossil fuels as part of 
its power supply mix, so that the people in the region have the 
affordable and reliable electricity.
    I am concerned, a lot of times emotions set in, and I have 
been guilty of it myself, and people are put in a corner that 
they really don't like to be in. I would like to ask the two of 
you primarily if you stand by the previous statements that you 
made, the quotes that you made. Well, you know what the quotes 
are.
    Ms. Geer. Sir, I am sorry, I don't think I understand the 
question. I am not being disrespectful, but do you mind asking 
it again?
    Senator Inhofe. I don't mind a bit.
    Ms. Geer. Thank you, sir.
    Senator Inhofe. Just a second. Ms. Geer, in June 2015, you 
implied I was a hater. Well, we won't get into the personal 
attacks. But several individuals were on that list.
    Ms. Moore, in June and July 2020, you tweeted in part, ``I 
am overjoyed for the defeat of all those disgusting oil and gas 
pipelines.'' Is that a statement that you agree with today? Or 
would you like to retract that statement?
    Ms. Moore. Thank you so much for the question, Senator. Two 
things that I would share. And I do stand by my answer before. 
When we look to our history, we can be very grateful for 
everything that oil and gas has done for our civilization.
    Senator Inhofe. Yes, I am sorry, there won't be time for a 
long answer to this.
    Ms. Moore. Of course.
    Senator Inhofe. Is that yes or no?
    Ms. Moore. It is a both/and statement, sir.
    Senator Inhofe. Oh boy. You want to give a both/and, too?
    Ms. Geer. Well----
    Senator Inhofe. Let me ask you this. If you were to be 
confirmed in this position, you are going to be working with 
fossil fuels. And that is a given. Is this any kind of a 
problem that you have where you would be using this position to 
try to change the bureaucracy or actually work within the 
confines that are given you?
    Ms. Moore. Senator, thank you very much for your question, 
and thank you for the follow up and for the clarification as 
well. If am blessed to be confirmed for the position, I would 
serve in that role in absolutely adherence with the statutory 
guidance that we have, both in terms of the mission of the TVA 
and of the responsibility that we have as Board members. While 
we have, TVA has said, and President Biden has said, and many 
other utilities and leading corporations have set 
decarbonization targets, there are pathways that we have to 
take to get there that are going to be unique to each portfolio 
and in alignment with the places that are served.
    And the spirit of service that I would bring to the role if 
confirmed would be what would guide me. That includes both 
respect for the pathway that TVA is on and for the role that 
fossil fuels currently play in the portfolio, and also for the 
communities where those plants are located, including the 
people who work there, and making sure that if and as TVA 
transitions away from fossil fuels that all the families who 
depend on those jobs are supported and served as well. Very 
much in alignment with the guidance that we have from a 
statutory perspective and how to serve, and also in terms of my 
own personal commitment rooted in my faith to make sure that 
all the work that I do is reflecting love for my neighbors.
    Senator Inhofe. All right. I think your sentiments, how you 
would masquerade these over a period of time, I don't know. But 
again, you have expressed yourselves. My problem is, and just 
kind of bear with me for a minute. If you have these feelings 
about part of the mix; one of the things that we have insisted 
on is that we have the whole mix. It is going to take all of 
the above. So that is one that you would be forced to live 
with, isn't it? You don't have a choice. You don't have an 
option on that. Is that a problem with you?
    Ms. Moore. Sir, my guiding light and my north star, if I 
were blessed to be confirmed for the role, would be the 
statutory mandate that we have. That is not a matter of my 
personal feelings or my personal commitments or positions or 
statements I may have made with regard to my personal feelings 
or other responsibilities that I have had. My chief 
responsibility, if I were blessed to be confirmed, is to the 
people of the Tennessee Valley, in making certain that any 
decision that I make or any decision that I participate in, 
prioritizes the reliability and the resiliency and the 
affordability of energy.
    Senator Inhofe. That is fine. That is fine.
    Do you agree with that, Beth?
    Ms. Geer. Yes, sir, thank you very much for the chance to 
address that. Of course, I do also agree with my colleague, 
Michelle, that as a Board member, if I am confirmed, that my 
primary responsibility would be in helping the TVA carry out 
its mission of providing the three Es, environmental 
stewardship; energy that is safe, reliable and resilient; and 
of course, environmental stewardship.
    With respect to the pipeline issue, if I could just speak 
about that for a second. I have worked in a couple of instances 
over the last few years where pipelines have been proposed to 
be located in places where the folks who would be most impacted 
and most affected were not given a voice. And so I do believe 
that my experience in those types of situations would be 
helpful in giving those people a voice.
    As a member of the Board, should I be confirmed, I strongly 
believe that it is imperative that the people who are most 
impacted have a voice and that they are listened to. So that 
was context, if that is helpful.
    Senator Inhofe. Very good. Thank you very much.
    Ms. Geer. Thank you, sir.
    Senator Markey. So we will come back for an additional 
round of questions.
    We are joined by Senator Cramer. We are still on the first 
round, so we recognize him at this time.
    Senator Cramer. Thank you very much, Senator.
    Thanks to all of you for being here.
    I am just going to talk on one topic briefly, and ask each 
of the three of you up for the TVA to respond to it. As you 
know, Congress, over the years and the decades, has committed 
lots of dollars to broadband build out, particularly in 
underserved and unserved areas. In fact, in the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Act, we added I think $65 billion just to that, 
to try, and again, make sure that every rural community in 
America has good libraries, good access to education, commerce, 
medicine. We just need to have that final mile filled in 
wherever at all possible.
    I have heard some rumblings, and I am going to confess 
right up front, to me that is what they are at this point. But 
I want to do a little discovery for you all, or I want you all 
to do a little discovery for me, and maybe answer this 
question. I have heard reports that some of the TVA local power 
companies have delayed or inhibited broadband build out by 
restricting or significantly raising the cost of access to 
their utility poles. My 4 years on the Energy and Commerce 
Committee over in the House, this was an ongoing discussion. It 
has become more of a discussion. Obviously, TVA, like a lot of 
utilities, has shall we say, beachfront property and access for 
this infrastructure to the poles would be great.
    So really, the only way to have the type of reliable, high 
speed Internet and educational and economic health, as I said, 
opportunities, is with high speed broadband. So through its 
authority over the local companies, and it is in your 
distribution contracts, you would have authority to require the 
LPCs to offer time and cost effective pole access. My 
understanding is TVA has been reluctant to exercise that 
authority. I understand that. But I just want to know, if 
confirmed, will each of you commit to quickly examining the 
pole access issue further, and ensuring that TVA is doing 
everything in its power to advance Federal broadband deployment 
priorities to benefit, obviously, the entire country but 
especially the communities under your jurisdiction?
    I will start with you, Ms. Geer.
    Ms. Geer. Yes, sir, thank you, Senator. I absolutely commit 
to looking into it further, and if confirmed, to learning more. 
I share your concern about broadband. After moving back to 
Tennessee to my rural hometown about 15 years ago, I had dial 
up. So I am totally with you. I do believe that broadband is 
almost a basic necessity for most folks now, both in their 
personal and private life. So yes, sir.
    And I do believe, again, I don't know the specifics just 
yet, but the TVA is playing an important part as a convenor 
amongst the appropriate parties to make sure that broadband 
is--that people have access to broadband in the TVA service 
area.
    Senator Cramer. Thank you.
    Mr. Klein.
    Mr. Klein. Thank you, Senator. The TVA Act does not address 
broadband. The Act mandates that TVA provide electricity. 
However, I am certainly not opposed to working with our local 
power companies. In my opinion, I believe that would be the 
best avenue to address broadband.
    I say that; it just so happens that I worked at the 
Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, distributor of TVA. We had 
the first smart grid installed in the United States in 
Chattanooga. So I know it can be done.
    Senator Cramer. You make an important point about the 
leadership role that your utilities at every level, but the 
smaller the community, the bigger the role, right, in 
facilitating what you are talking about.
    I would just add that TVA may not have that charge in their 
Act, but they have as part of their mission statement the 
advancement of economic and social well being of the community.
    Mr. Klein. Yes, I agree with that. If confirmed, I will 
support TVA working with the local power companies to install 
broadband throughout the seven State region, up to and 
including the rural areas that we have in the Tennessee Valley.
    Senator Cramer. Thank you. Ms. Moore, you have 4 seconds, 
but I will bet the Chairman will be benevolent.
    Ms. Moore. Yes, absolutely, and thank you very much.
    Senator Cramer. Thank you.
    Senator Markey. I love this subject, if I can go into the 
way back machine a little bit, it was 1978, and all the cable 
companies, especially in rural America, but urban increasingly, 
too, they wanted to deploy cable. But the telephone company and 
the electric companies were saying, well, put up your own 
poles. So there would be three poles going down the street.
    So we actually passed a law in 1978, Al Gore and I were on 
that subcommittee, the Telecommunications Subcommittee, to say, 
no. The existing poles have to rent to the cable companies. We 
don't need a third pole going down every street in America. 
Then that telescoped the timeframe to have cable, it was only 
10 percent of America that had cable at that time.
    Senator Cramer. After that it was trenches. Everybody had 
to go in the same trench.
    Senator Markey. Yes, then we had to pass laws to say, you 
have to share the trench once that trench is built. So it is 
working smarter, not harder, which is really what all of this 
is. My mother used to say, Eddie, you have to learn how to work 
smarter, not harder. She would say that right after she said, 
We are going to donate your brain to Harvard Medical School as 
a completely unused human organ.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Markey. So all she was saying was, please use your 
brain, try to be working smart here.
    Senator Cramer. That is all I really ask.
    Senator Markey. So it is all there already, and we can have 
the revolution without the struggle.
    Senator Cramer. There you go.
    Thank you all.
    Senator Markey. I appreciate it.
    Do you have something else to add, Mr. Klein? It looked 
like you did.
    Mr. Klein. Well, if I may, because what you said hit the 
nail on the head.
    Senator Markey. About my brain?
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Markey. My mother would agree with you.
    Mr. Klein. I can't speak to that.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Klein. I am sure you are a lot smarter than I am. I 
wouldn't get into a debate with that.
    But again, perhaps I didn't get my point across as I meant 
to. But that is what I was saying, the local power companies 
and distributors have the system in place. We have already got 
the distribution systems built throughout the valley. And like 
you said, Mr. Chairman, we don't need to add a third power 
pole. We have the poles in place. The system is in place. We 
just have to add an additional fiber optic cable. And in doing 
so, then we can get broadband throughout the valley. I know it 
can be done.
    Senator Markey. Excellent.
    And by unanimous consent, I would like to put in the record 
that Mr. Klein is a very smart guy.
    No objection, so ordered.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Markey. I thank you, Senator Cramer.
    Let me move on a little bit. My father was a vice president 
of an electrical union when he was a younger man.
    Mr. Klein. I am glad to hear that.
    Senator Markey. I am proud to be his son. I have seen 
directly the benefit of what union membership has on our 
Nation's workers and their families.
    It is why I found troubling that in 2020 TVA tried to 
outsource more than 200 of those union jobs during the 
pandemic. While that effort was temporarily blocked, I remain 
concerned about efforts to offshore American union jobs. Can 
you speak to that, Mr. Klein?
    Mr. Klein. Yes, sir. Thank you, Senator. I am a working 
man. That is all I have ever been, and I haven't forgotten 
where I came from and never will. So I am not in favor of 
offshoring good paying TVA jobs. I would never commit to that 
happening.
    However, you mentioned outsourcing as well. We currently 
have agreements in place on the property of TVA to outsource 
some work through these construction and maintenance 
agreements. But it is not the intent, nor would I agree, that 
it would harm the current annual work force. Those agreements 
are only meant for peaks, for peak construction, peak 
maintenance. Those are through the building trades, and they 
are good union paying jobs. The TVA annual jobs are good paying 
jobs, some of the best in the valley. I would never agree to do 
anything to harm that, nor the employees of TVA.
    Senator Markey. That is great. My father was a hardworking 
man. He had a funny accent, though, he sounded a lot like me.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Klein. You and I, we talk a little different.
    Senator Markey. Yes, but you don't have an accent the way 
my father does.
    Mr. Klein. I am doing pretty good following you.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Markey. If confirmed, you would prioritize efforts 
to keep TVA jobs local and support the use of union labor?
    Mr. Klein. Absolutely.
    Senator Markey. In recent years, the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission has detailed how TVA management allowed for a 
chilled work environment in which employees perceived that they 
were discouraged from raising safety concerns to their employer 
or to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 2019, I wrote to 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the need to take this 
seriously and ensure that the TVA was fixing this issue.
    For context, TVA operates roughly 5 percent of the nuclear 
sites in the United States. But in 2019, TVA employees 
represented 42 percent of the allegations brought to the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission for resolution.
    So let me ask you, then, Mr. Wagner, as you noted in your 
testimony, the TVA Board created the TV Office of Inspector 
General in response to problems in the TVA's nuclear program 
and a significant amount of whistleblower complaints. If 
confirmed, Mr. Wagner, would you commit to working with the 
TVA's whistleblower protection coordinator to foster an 
environment that empowers and encourages nuclear plant 
employees to come forward with safety concerns?
    Mr. Wagner. Thank you for the question. Absolutely. That 
has always been a high priority in the Inspector General 
community as well as at TVA. We take those complaints very 
seriously.
    Senator Markey. TVA operates about a dozen landfills of 
coal ash, which have previously led to tragic spills of toxic 
material into surrounding waterways. Last year, TVA moved to 
pause plans to move coal ash to a burial site in southeast 
Memphis in order to gather community input. However, TVA's CEO 
subsequently indicated that Memphis still represents the best 
location to bury 3 million tons of coal ash.
    To all of the Board nominees, would you commit to 
prioritizing stakeholder engagement, particularly around 
important issues around environmental health and justice?
    Ms. Geer.
    Ms. Geer. Yes, sir, absolutely I will.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Klein.
    Mr. Klein. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Markey. And Ms. Moore.
    Ms. Moore. Thank you so much, Senator. Yes, sir. Thank you.
    Senator Markey. You were going to add?
    Ms. Moore. Yes, sir, I would. In terms of stakeholder 
engagement, NEPA, of course, is a statutory responsibility of 
TVA as a Federal agency. It gives strong guidance there, as 
does the statute to us as Board members to engage the public.
    Senator Markey. Thank you. The key to any agency is 
accountability and oversight.
    Mr. Wagner, if confirmed, how will you use your decades of 
experience at the TVA to uncover and prevent waste, fraud, 
abuse, and ensure TVA objectives are being met effectively and 
efficiently?
    Mr. Wagner. Thank you for the question. I would seek to 
continue the work that the OIG does in a very broad spectrum, 
through its audits and investigations. I would continue that 
work and be very risk based, and do program evaluations 
necessary and make recommendations to improve those programs.
    Senator Markey. Thank you.
    Back to energy efficiency, which again is working smarter, 
not harder, the goal has to be for us to ensure that the TVA is 
a national leader in technological innovation, low cost power, 
and environmental stewardship. Energy efficiency programs hit 
all three of those priorities. They are innovative, reduce 
cost, and consumers benefit, and the environment is benefited 
as well.
    While the TVA has acknowledged that energy efficiency is 
critical to achieving a least cost energy mix, in recent years 
the Authority has cut, cut important energy efficiency programs 
and incentives.
    Ms. Moore, do you see cost saving energy efficiency 
programs as something that you should be supporting as a Board 
member at the TVA, if you are confirmed?
    Ms. Moore. Thank you so much, Senator. Energy efficiency 
and reducing energy burdens, particularly for those residents 
of the valley who earn the least incomes, is critically 
important and absolutely in alignment with the guidance that 
the TVA Act gives TVA from a mission perspective, and also for 
our responsibilities as Board members, if blessed to be 
confirmed. Rural communities, in particularly, particularly low 
income residents in rural communities, carry some of the 
highest energy burdens across the entire Nation, which is 
rooted, of course, in a lack of energy efficiency, not 
necessarily in high rates. Also bringing attention to those 
issues, both in the spirit of TVA's responsibility as a 
technological and environmental quality leader, and for the 
social benefit of its communities would absolutely be a 
priority for me.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Klein, in your expertise working on 
electric systems, how much emphasis do you believe we should be 
giving to energy efficiency work, using new technologies, new 
strategies to reduce the need for any of the electrical 
generation in the first place?
    Mr. Klein. Mr. Chairman, I don't have all the information 
that I would need to professionally address that. However, I am 
committed to working within the framework of the TVA Act, and 
that is providing affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy, 
which up to and includes renewables. And so I am not afraid of 
new technology. I am certainly open to looking at new 
technology as we move into the future to make life better.
    Senator Markey. I appreciate that. But of course, the less 
money we have to spend on building new power plants is the more 
money that is left in the pockets of ordinary consumers. So the 
smarter we are at avoiding the need to build these plants, the 
better it is for the consumer out there, so they keep more 
money in their pockets.
    I urge you, Mr. Klein, to look at that and think about 
those poor taxpayers out there, those poor ratepayers that 
first would have to pay for the new facility, and then they 
would have to pay for the higher electricity rates that are out 
there because of the need for that additional generation 
capacity that was avoidable right from the beginning. So just 
to protect them on both fronts.
    Mr. Klein. Sir, I will, and I take note of what you are 
saying.
    Senator Markey. I appreciate that, sir.
    I would also like to ask unanimous consent to submit for 
the record data that shows the power sector is quickly moving 
toward zero emission energy sources aligned with President 
Biden's climate goals. This includes data from the Smart 
Electric Power Alliance, an organization that tracks power 
sector commitments to reduce emissions.
    According to the Smart Electric Power Alliance, 69 percent, 
I will say that again, 69 percent of U.S. accounts are served 
by a utility that has committed to 100 percent carbon reduction 
target, or a utility owned by a parent company that has a 100 
percent carbon reduction target. I hope that is the goal the 
TVA will adopt as well.
    I ask unanimous consent to have this report included in the 
record. Without objection, so ordered.
    [The referenced information was not received at time of 
print.]
    Senator Markey. Again, my goal is to just keep the TVA 
cutting edge, the way I was raised in Massachusetts to think 
about it.
    My grandfather worked in a mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts. 
They had dammed the Merrimack River in order to create that 
industrial revolution in Lowell and Lawrence. That is where my 
grandfather worked, along that river with the dam that was 
constructed by those companies in the State of Massachusetts.
    Then in the 1930s, my grandfather obviously paid a lot of 
taxes in order to build the same dams, but down in the south. 
So he was taxed to pay for all those dams that are down there 
that are famous dams, even today, and I am sure he was proud to 
do it, to pay for all of those dams.
    That was cutting edge at the time. Because obviously he was 
working in a mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It was cutting 
edge.
    But again, as Massachusetts has moved along, up to 16 
percent renewable energy, 14 percent solar, so too is my 
expectation as the grandson that the TVA continue to move as 
well. Because I know how proud he was back then, and I just 
would like this generation to be equally proud of this legacy 
that TVA has, and that you have a chance to embellish 
dramatically and not allow the most powerful force in nature, 
stasis, to block that kind of change which is now affordable, 
sustainable, and compatible with electrical generation and 
saving the planet and creating jobs at the same time.
    With that, this hearing will come to an end, unless there 
are other questions that you want to have asked.
    This is like a religious ceremony, a senatorial hearing. So 
I had to open the way I did and close this way as well, or else 
history records that the hearing was not conducted in a proper 
way. So before we adjourn, some housekeeping, I would like to 
ask unanimous consent to submit for the record a variety of 
materials that include letters from stakeholders and other 
materials that relate to today's nomination hearing.
    [The referenced information follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
    
    Senator Markey. Senators will be allowed to submit written 
questions for the record through the close of business on 
Wednesday, April 20th. We will compile those questions and send 
them to our witnesses. We will ask the four witnesses to reply 
to those questions by May 4th. If nothing else, it will 
expedite your consideration for a vote out of this Committee, 
and then on the floor of the U.S. Senate. So we would ask for 
you to comply with that.
    We thank each of you for your willingness to serve our 
country in each of your individual capacities. We are more than 
willing to work with you in the weeks ahead to try to telescope 
the timeframe to get you on the job, so you are working for the 
TVA and for our country.
    Thank you all so much.
    [Whereupon, at 3:48 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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