Sponsors (2)
The bill enhances TVA-specific oversight mechanics (clearer GAO audit authority and aggregate annual staffing reports) while narrowing public access to individual executive pay details, trading some transparency and external accountability for more internal control over personnel information.
GAO and taxpayers: the bill clarifies and modernizes audit language to give the Government Accountability Office clearer authority and personnel-selection rules for TVA audits, likely improving oversight quality and accountability of TVA operations.
Taxpayers: the bill requires an annual report showing how many TVA management-level employees earn at or above the GS‑15 maximum and their general duties, increasing transparency about high-level staffing counts (though not individual pay details).
Taxpayers, journalists, watchdogs, and TVA employees: the bill shields individual management employees' names and salary details from FOIA and mandated-report disclosure, reducing public scrutiny, making it harder for journalists and watchdogs to detect pay irregularities or favoritism, and weakening external accountability over TVA spending.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires TVA to report management employees paid at or above GS‑15 with names, salaries, and duties, and makes that listed information exempt from FOIA and a reports-access law.
Introduced April 8, 2025 by Marsha Blackburn · Last progress April 8, 2025
Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board to file an annual report listing the number of management-level employees (including executives and Board members) paid at or above the maximum GS‑15 rate and to include each listed employee’s name, salary, and duties. The bill then makes that listed salary information exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (by creating an Exemption 3 statutory basis) and from the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act. Also updates and modernizes language in TVA law related to bidding and Comptroller General audits (changing references to the Government Accountability Office and clarifying audit representative selection), replaces certain phrasing with contemporary statutory style, and makes one conforming deletion elsewhere in the TVA statute. There is no new funding or explicit effective date provided in the text provided.