HR 144 · 119th CongressPassed Chamber

Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act

Latest updateJan 15, 2025

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 423 - 0 (Roll no. 14). (text: 1/13/2025 CR H105)

Government Operations and Politics

Sponsor

Steve Cohen

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

January 16, 2025

Legislative Progress

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Introduced

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House or Senate vote

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President

Sent to White House

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Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal agency established in 1933 to manage hydroelectric power and regional development across the Southeast, currently operates under financial reporting requirements that have evolved over decades. Like other federal agencies, the TVA is subject to the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995, which automatically terminates reporting mandates unless Congress explicitly reauthorizes them. The TVA has historically submitted financial statements to Congress, but the scope and detail of executive compensation disclosure have remained limited compared to transparency standards applied to other federal entities and private corporations.

Key Provisions

1Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority to submit an annual report to Congress listing the names, salaries, and job duties of all management-level employees and board members earning compensation at or above the General Schedule grade GS-15 maximum pay rate.
2Exempts the salary information contained in the TVA compensation report from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3)), preventing members of the public from obtaining the data through FOIA requests.
3Exempts the TVA salary report from the requirements of the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, which ordinarily requires federal agencies to make congressionally mandated reports publicly available in searchable electronic formats.
4Amends Section 9 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to establish the compensation report as a permanent congressional reporting requirement that will not sunset under the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995.

★ Why this matters

Congress gains detailed information about executive compensation at a major federal agency, enabling legislative oversight of how TVA leadership is paid. The salary data remains confidential from the general public, limiting external scrutiny of executive compensation decisions. The permanent reporting requirement ensures Congress receives consistent compensation data without needing to reauthorize the mandate periodically. This creates a dual-transparency system where Congress has access to information withheld from the public.

● Who this affects

Members of Congress and their staff gain access to TVA executive salary information for oversight purposes. Tennessee Valley Authority executives and board members will have their compensation disclosed to Congress, though not publicly. Taxpayers and citizens in the TVA service territory (parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia) lose the ability to request executive compensation data through Freedom of Information Act requests. Public interest organizations and government watchdog groups cannot obtain the salary information through standard transparency mechanisms.

Bill Text

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<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 144

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 16, 2025

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

                                 AN ACT

 
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.

    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).''.

            Passed the House of Representatives January 15, 2025.

Auto-Whip

Where Senate senators currently stand

Built from official statements, public releases, and voting records where they exist. Members without enough evidence are marked as no position.

103 tracked

Support

103

No Position

Oppose

Support

Members whose public record points toward backing the bill.

No members in this group yet.

Opposition

Members whose public record points toward opposition.

No members in this group yet.

No Position

Members we are still tracking, but without enough public evidence yet.

103

Bernie Sanders

I-Vermont

No position

The public record does not contain any explicit statements about the Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act. While Bernie Sanders' general policy positions on worker protections, labor rights, and government transparency align with the bill's apparent goals of salary transparency, there is no specific evidence of his stance on this particular TVA legislation. The content shows his focus on workplace safety, worker protection, and opposition to corporate practices, which could suggest possible support for salary transparency measures, but without direct evidence of his position on this specific bill, a neutral stance with low confidence is most appropriate.

Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act

Legislative Progress

Plain-Language Summary

Key Provisions

★ Why this matters

● Who this affects

Bill Text

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Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act

Legislative Progress

Plain-Language Summary

Key Provisions

★ Why this matters

● Who this affects

Bill Text

Where Senate senators currently stand

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Opposition

No Position

Party Positions

Democratic Party

Republican Party

Take Action

Active Organizations