If you’ve been around awhile, you know I’ve been asking for transparency on Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) salaries for years, and it’s time we got some dadgum answers.
We already know the top dogs are raking in MILLIONS.
Outgoing CEO Jeff Lyash made a whopping $10 million in 2024—mainly because of bloated incentives and perks. Even President Trump called for a stop to the madness during his first term, suggesting that the top salary should be capped at $500,000.
Now, there’s a new TVA CEO coming to town, but it’s the same old story. Don Moul negotiated a $1.2 million base salary, with the potential for millions more in bonuses if he meets certain goals. And that’s just one guy.
That alone is crazy, but we also need to shine a light on many more TVA salaries. Congress created TVA back in the 1930s to bring electricity and jobs to rural Tennessee. While it doesn’t receive taxpayer funding, it’s still a public corporation—and Tennesseeans deserve to see the receipts. But TVA continually insists on keeping people in the dark, and it’s unacceptable.
Back in 2023, I worked with Rep. Cohen to introduce a bill that would cut the secrecy at TVA, and though it passed, it never came to a vote in the Senate, so it died at the end of the session.
But we’re back with the same bill and the same demands—and it looks like we may get it done this time around. I’m happy to report that the bill just passed out of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee this week.
When signed into law, it'll require TVA to report salaries for anyone making more than $123,000 annually. Why? Because this agency that only covers 65,000 square miles employs 10,000 folks—many of whom are making millions—and people deserve to know.
If we don’t have trust from the people we represent, what do we have? There’s no such thing as too much transparency—and that’s exactly why I’m pushing this bill.
