Statement of Senator Barbara Boxer
Hearing on the Nominations of Marilyn A. Brown, Barbara S. Haskew, Neil G. McBride and William B. Sansom to be Members of the Board of Directors of the
Tennessee Valley Authority
February 9, 2010
(Remarks as prepared for delivery)

I am very pleased to convene this hearing on the nomination of Marilyn A. Brown, Barbara S. Haskew, Neil G. McBride and William B. Sansom to the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a critical piece of our nation's energy policy. In 1933, it was an ambitious, unprecedented and successful government effort to improve a deeply impoverished area. Its mandate is to be a national leader in technological innovation, low-cost power, and environmental stewardship.

In 2010, that mandate is even more important. Our nation is on the brink of tremendous energy and environmental opportunities that can create new jobs and economic growth in our country. If our nation acts now to develop and manufacture clean energy technologies, our communities, our families, our health and our economy will all benefit.

The tragic coal-ash disaster at the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant over a year ago highlighted some of the hidden costs to public health and safety from fossil fuel based energy, and the need to rethink how a utility should be managed in the 21st century.

I believe that the TVA's Board must help to lead the way in developing and using clean energy technologies, must ensure that TVA does not repeat the mistakes of the past, and it must do everything that it can to make the people affected by the spill and its aftermath whole. The TVA must also increase its commitment to its core mission of environmental stewardship and to protecting the health and safety of all communities affected by its operations.

I look forward to hearing from the nominees about specifically how they would help to guide TVA to achieve its mission of being a national leader in low-cost power, technological innovation and environmental stewardship.