TVA buildingNASHVILLE – U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said today that it would “be much better” if the Tennessee Valley Authority had a full quorum in place by Jan. 1.
But the Republican lawmaker said the federal utility would still be able to operate if President Barack Obama’s five nominees haven’t been confirmed by senators to the nine-member board by that time.
“It’d be much better if when we get to the first of the year the TVA board had a quorum, a majority of directors, and I hope that it does,” Alexander said. “But the TVA board can continue to operate without a quorum. There are just some decisions that it couldn’t make without it.”
Alexander said “there’ll be no interruptions in electric service, and there’ll be no interruption in the daily operations of TVA even if there’s not a quorum after Jan. 1.”
Obama in February nominated Peter Mahurin of Bowling Green, Ky., an executive vice president of Hilliard Lyons and a 41-year financial adviser and analyst who serves on several corporate boards. But months later, the Senate has yet to take up the nomination.