House passes grid resiliency, TVA transparency bills

By Amelia Davidson | 01/16/2025 06:45 AM EST

The legislation cleared the House during the last Congress but failed to become law.

A view of power lines and wildfire.

Smoke from a wildfire hangs above power lines in Newhall, California, in 2019. The House on Wednesday approved legislation on grid and disaster concerns. Noah Berger/AP

The House passed two bills Wednesday related to public electric utilities, one of which would increase pay transparency at the massive Tennessee Valley Authority.

Legislators passed H.R. 144, the “Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act,” in a unanimous 423-0 vote under suspension of the rules.

The bipartisan bill, from the Transportation and infrastructure Committee, passed the House in March 2024 but failed to become law. Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) reintroduced it this month.

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The legislation would restore certain salary reporting and disclosure requirements for executives and upper-level employees at the TVA, which is federally owned. A 1995 law keeps certain TVA employees from needing to disclose their salaries and bonuses.

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