[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 43 (Monday, March 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H1078-H1079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY SALARY TRANSPARENCY ACT
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. 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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4693
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Tennessee Valley Authority
Salary Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. SALARY DISCLOSURE; EXCEPTION TO REPORT ELIMINATION.
Section 9 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16
U.S.C. 831h) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``a financial
statement'' and all that follows through ``$1,500 a year''
and inserting ``a report of the total number of employees at
the management level or above, to include all executives and
board members, that shall include the names, salaries, and
duties of such employees, that are receiving compensation at
or greater than the maximum rate of basic pay for grade GS-15
of the General Schedule'';
(2) by striking all that precedes ``The Board shall'' and
inserting the following:
``SEC. 9. FINANCIAL REPORTING.
``(a) Report on Compensation.--
``(1) In general.--''; and
(3) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Exemption.--The information concerning salaries of
employees of the Corporation contained in, or filed with, the
report described in paragraph (1) is exempt from--
``(A) disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United
States Code; and
``(B) the requirements of the Access to Congressionally
Mandated Reports Act (Public Law 117-263).''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Graves) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. 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. COHEN. 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
[[Page H1079]]
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. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), one of the cosponsors of this
piece of legislation.
Mr. BURCHETT. 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.
{time} 1645
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. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. COHEN. 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. GRAVES of Missouri. 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4693, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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