Scott Klug: “Let me, if I can, clarify somewhat the relationship between the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Federal Government.…”

“Let me, if I can, clarify somewhat the relationship between the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Federal Government. This is a General Accounting Office report, dated June 1995. The headline says, Tennessee Valley Authority, problems raise questions about long-term viability. If I can, Mr. Chairman, let me read briefly: ``While no cash flow crisis exists today, GAO believes that TVA's financial condition threatens its long-term viability and places the Federal Government at risk.'' If there is no relationship between the TVA and the Federal Government, how can they possibly be at risk? ``Resolving TVA's financial problems will be costly and require painful decisions. ``In other words,'' concludes this report, ``without the guarantee of the Federal Government, much of the financing of the Tennessee Valley Authority is the equivalent of a junk pile.'' That is not my conclusion, that is the conclusion of the U.S. Congress General Accounting Office. So let us not for a minute pretend there are not any significant financial ties between the U.S. Government and its taxpayers and the Tennessee Valley Authority, because, as everybody in this Chamber understands who is now defending the project, TVA only exists because of $28 billion in taxpayer-financed subsidies.”