~I am also pleased we are having this hearing on the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA is a subject within my Subcommittee, and unfortunately due to so many pressing issues we have been unable to hold an Oversight hearing before now.
Like many in Congress, I believe the monopoly of the TVA is a dinosaur in today's electric power business. Due to actions by State legislatures and Congress, the electric marketplace is changing at a rapid pace. While we may not have reached consensus on how best to proceed, action by the states or Congress is going to lead toward deregulation of the electric industry. With all other aspects of the electric industry changing, I believe the time has come for TVA to change as well.
In light of the deregulation debate, I believe TVA's government protected monopoly has outlived it's usefulness. For too long, problems at TVA have been ignored or swept under the carpet -although I am not sure how it is possible to ignore a $28 billion dollar debt. The debt refinancing plan which was attached to last year's Omnibus Appropriations Act was wrong and should not have occurred. In bypassing the committee of jurisdiction, it is estimated
that it cost the taxpayers over $1 billion dollars. These actions have simply become too large for Congress or the American people to remain silent. Created during the New Deal when only 15 percent of rural America enjoyed electricity, it is time for the reign of this bloated bureaucracy to come to an end. I believe the legislation before the committee today is a step in the right direction and long overdue.