H.R. 144 explained · 119th Congress · Pending in Congress
Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act
Cosponsors: 1 (0 D, 1 R) · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-12
Introduced: 2025-01-03
Latest action (2025-01-16): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
What H.R. 144 does, in plain terms
Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act This bill expands reporting requirements for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TVA is a government corporation that provides electricity in Tennessee and in portions of several surrounding states. It also provides flood control, navigation, and land management services for the Tennessee River system. The bill reinstates the requirement for TVA to file an annual financial statement and report with Congress in March. (The requirement was terminated by the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995.) The bill also modifies the requirement that the report include the names, salaries, and duties of employees earning more than $1,500 a year. Under the bill, this information is only required for employees earning more than the maximum rate of basic pay for grade GS-13 of the General Schedule.
Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.
Constitution Index
“VFA Constitution grade”
Minor constitutional concerns
Graded 2026-10-11
SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology
The bill is a modest expansion of congressional oversight over a federal corporation, which falls within Congress's enumerated powers. It does not infringe on individual rights, and the reporting requirement is a reasonable exercise of federal authority over a federal entity. The only minor concern is the potential administrative burden, but this does not rise to a constitutional issue.
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✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
Congress has broad authority over federal corporations and their operations under the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) and its spending power (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1). The TVA is a federal instrumentality, and requiring it to report to Congress is a legitimate exercise of congressional oversight. -
✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
The bill imposes reporting requirements on a government corporation, not on private individuals. It does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, or cruel and unusual punishment. No amendment is implicated. -
✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
The bill does not restrict individual liberty or property. It only requires the TVA to disclose salary information for high-earning employees, which is a standard transparency measure for government entities. Employees' privacy interests are minimal given their public employment and the high salary threshold. -
✓ Passes · Decentralization
The TVA is a federal corporation, and its operations are inherently federal in scope. The reporting requirement is a federal oversight function that cannot be handled by individuals, local communities, or states. It does not consolidate decision-making upward; it merely adds transparency to an existing federal entity. -
✓ Passes · Due process and takings
The bill does not deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process. It does not take private property for public use without just compensation. The reporting requirement is a routine administrative measure that does not trigger procedural or substantive due process concerns.
Sources: Congress.gov: HR 144 summary
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