Passed
423 Yea0 Nay10 Not voting2/3 required
HR-144-119
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Sponsored by Steve Cohen (D-TN)
What it does
This bill would reinstate a requirement for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to file an annual financial statement and report with Congress each March — a requirement that was eliminated by the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995. It would also update the salary disclosure threshold in that report: instead of listing all employees earning more than $1,500 per year (an outdated figure), TVA would only be required to disclose the names, salaries, and duties of employees earning more than the top of the GS-13 pay grade under the federal General Schedule (currently approximately $122,000 per year).
Who benefits
Members of Congress and their staff who would gain access to structured, regular financial data on TVA operations. Journalists, researchers, and watchdog organizations that monitor federal government corporations. Ratepayers in TVA's service territory (Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia) who may benefit from increased public accountability over a monopoly electricity provider. Taxpayers broadly, given TVA's status as a federally chartered corporation.
Who is hurt
TVA as an institution would face increased administrative burden and costs to compile and submit the annual report. Higher-paid TVA employees whose names, salaries, and job duties would be publicly disclosed may experience reduced privacy. TVA leadership and management, who could face greater congressional scrutiny of compensation decisions. Potentially, TVA's ability to recruit or retain private-sector talent if disclosed salaries invite public or political pressure on compensation levels.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that TVA is a federally chartered government corporation with a monopoly over electricity service for millions of Americans, and that Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to oversee its operations. They contend that the 1995 elimination of the reporting requirement created a transparency gap, and that updating the salary threshold from the obsolete $1,500 figure to the GS-13 maximum focuses disclosure on senior, decision-making employees — making oversight more targeted and meaningful without burdening TVA with reporting on every worker.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that TVA already files extensive disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission and publishes annual reports, making this additional congressional reporting requirement duplicative and administratively costly without producing new accountability. They contend that mandatory public disclosure of individual employee names and salaries could put TVA at a competitive disadvantage when recruiting experienced engineers, executives, and technical specialists from the private sector, potentially driving up overall compensation costs or reducing the quality of TVA's workforce.
Constitutional context
Congress has broad authority to set reporting and oversight requirements for federal government corporations it creates, rooted in the Necessary and Proper Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 18) and its general legislative and appropriations powers. No active constitutional tension is apparent here — this bill does not delegate new rulemaking authority to an agency, implicate the Commerce Clause's outer limits, or raise takings or due process concerns.
Checks and balances
Congress gains a formal, recurring oversight mechanism over TVA; TVA's board retains operational authority, but its compensation decisions would be subject to annual congressional review with no new enforcement power created by this bill.
Historical precedent
The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 previously terminated this exact TVA reporting requirement, making this bill a direct reinstatement of a prior statutory obligation.
Passed