A year after their nomination by President Barack Obama, four new members of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors were finally confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
By unanimous consent, the Senate ratified the appointment of three Democrats - Middle Tennessee State University Economics Professor Barbara Haskew of Chattanooga, Georgia Tech Professor Marilyn Brown of Atlanta and Oak Ridge attorney Neil McBride - and Republican William Sansom, the Knoxville businessman who previously served as TVA chairman.
The new members will now be eligible to accept their $48,200-a-year jobs on the policy-making board for the nation's biggest government utility. They will join the five board members appointed by President Bush for their first board meeting on Nov. 4 in Chattanooga.
"This gives TVA a full board at a time when producing large amounts of low-cost, reliable, clean electricity is crucial to creating good jobs," U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said in a statement.
Alexander, co-chairman of the TVA congressional caucus, was among the members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee who unanimously endorsed the four nominees in February.
But confirmation by the full U.S. Senate was held up for months by secret holds on the confirmation that senators made due primarily to unrelated issues.
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., initially put a hold on the confirmation of the TVA appointments over concerns about federal projects in Alabama. U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., put a hold on the nominees over concerns about the lack of any Mississippi representative on the 9-member board following the resignation last year of Don DePriest, who was from Columbus, Miss.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., held up a confirmation vote over a dispute with the White House about a recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board.
TVA Chairman Dennis Bottorff said last month that TVA was continuing normal operations with its five-member board - the bare minimum required for a quorum to conduct business.
"But we're anxious to have a full board again," he said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/chattreporter.