Inhofe Gives Opening Remarks at EPW Subcommittee Hearing on Tennessee Valley Authority Nominations

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the EPW Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, gave opening remarks today at a hearing to consider nominations to the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The nominations are as follows: Beth Geer, Robert Klein, and L. Michelle Moore to be Members of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Ben Wagner to be Inspector General of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

As Prepared for Delivery:

While my home state of Oklahoma is not part of the TVA region, having been a former chairman of this committee, I have come to know and appreciate the vital role that the TVA plays for the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia.

With that in mind, geographic representation at our agencies cannot be overlooked.

I share the concern of my colleagues from Kentucky and Mississippi who are disappointed by President Biden's highly unusual decision not to put forward nominations to the TVA Board from these states.

It's past time that the president put forward nominees from these states.

The TVA keeps the lights on for nearly ten million Americans and it does so with an all-of-the-above energy approach to power generation, which include fossil fuels.

Today, fossil fuels make up over 40 percent of TVA's electricity generation portfolio while wind and solar account for just 3 percent.

The calls to eliminate fossil fuels from the power sector are foolish and would be devastating for the American people by increasing already sky-high utility bills and creating greater unreliability for the electric grid.

Last month, media reports indicated that the TVA intends to invest over $3.5 billion in new natural-gas burning electric plants.

This is a smart investment, because when the sun isn't shining, or the wind isn't blowing, we require fuels like natural gas that are far more reliable and affordable when compared to intermittent renewable sources.

The TVA must not be weaponized to pursue a radical, Green New Deal-inspired agenda that forgoes reliable and affordable fossil fuels for its power supply in the name of climate alarmism.

It is my hope that these nominees recognize the need for fossil fuels for the power sector now and into the future. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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