{"id":30001,"date":"2022-12-12T04:22:25","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T05:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/?p=30001"},"modified":"2022-12-12T05:35:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T05:35:26","slug":"post-election-heat-is-on-biden-to-get-tva-board-nominees-okd-vines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/2022\/12\/12\/post-election-heat-is-on-biden-to-get-tva-board-nominees-okd-vines\/","title":{"rendered":"Post-election heat is on Biden to get TVA board nominees OK&#039;d | Vines"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el\" aria-label=\"Video - See TVA implosion at coal plant in New Johnsonville\">\n<div class=\"gnt_em_vp_w\" data-g-r=\"vp_tp\" data-c-vt=\"teal\" data-t-pl=\"teal-hero\"><button class=\"gnt_em_vp_a gnt_em_vp__tp_a\" data-g-r=\"vp_ap vp_tg\" data-c-vpattrs=\"{&quot;muted&quot;:true,&quot;bContent&quot;:false,&quot;an&quot;:&quot;tn-knoxville-C1262&quot;,&quot;pn&quot;:&quot;Knoxville News Sentinel&quot;,&quot;vidNum&quot;:1,&quot;docking&quot;:true}\" data-c-vpdata=\"{&quot;adsEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;awsPath&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;byline&quot;:&quot;Tennessee Valley Authority&quot;,&quot;canonicalURL&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;contentSourceCode&quot;:&quot;PNAS&quot;,&quot;createDate&quot;:&quot;2021-07-31T16:18:55Z&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tennessee Valley Authority, Nashville Tennessean&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:35000,&quot;headline&quot;:&quot;See TVA implosion at coal plant in New Johnsonville&quot;,&quot;hlsURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/hlsmedia.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/video-renditions\/c6230e20-943d-4cc4-96ae-2cd9a9b72c8f\/a6a5daeb-3680-4eec-ad4a-44c88d52c493\/1080p_30fps,720p_30fps,480p_30fps,master.m3u8?subtitles=5441992001&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;5441992001&quot;,&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/07\/31\/PNAS\/ab266ef8-a3be-4e4f-9afd-42819bee91e0-c6230e20-943d-4cc4-96ae-2cd9a9b72c8f_thumbnail.png&quot;,&quot;opto&quot;:true},&quot;initialPublishDate&quot;:&quot;2021-07-31T16:18:55Z&quot;,&quot;keywords&quot;:&quot;Tennessee Valley Authority,Overall Positive&quot;,&quot;mp4URL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/downloadmedia.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/video-renditions\/c6230e20-943d-4cc4-96ae-2cd9a9b72c8f\/a6a5daeb-3680-4eec-ad4a-44c88d52c493\/1080p_30fps.mp4&quot;,&quot;origin&quot;:&quot;Nashville Tennessean&quot;,&quot;pageURL&quot;:{&quot;long&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.tennessean.com\/videos\/news\/2021\/07\/31\/tennessee-valley-authority-implosion-new-johnsonville-coal-plant\/5441992001\/&quot;},&quot;promoBrief&quot;:&quot;The Tennessee Valley Authority imploded a 600-foot stack and 10 boilers that once served at a coal plant in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, on Saturday morning.&quot;,&quot;propertyName&quot;:&quot;TennGroup&quot;,&quot;publishDate&quot;:&quot;2021-07-31T16:18:55Z&quot;,&quot;series&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;ssts&quot;:{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;subsection&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;topic&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;subtopic&quot;:&quot;&quot;},&quot;tags&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;e035c935-86d9-4e91-ba70-440cbb0777e8&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Tennessee Valley Authority&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;7095bb07-b172-434b-a4eb-8856263ad949&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Overall Positive&quot;}],&quot;title&quot;:&quot;See TVA implosion at coal plant in New Johnsonville&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;\/videos\/news\/2021\/07\/31\/tennessee-valley-authority-implosion-new-johnsonville-coal-plant\/5441992001\/&quot;}\" aria-label=\"Play video\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"gnt_em_vp_img\" src=\"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ab266ef8-a3be-4e4f-9afd-42819bee91e0-c6230e20-943d-4cc4-96ae-2cd9a9b72c8f_thumbnail.jpg\" data-g-r=\"vp_po\" \/> <span class=\"gnt_em_vp_sbtp\"><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Now that midterm elections are over, President <strong>Joe Biden<\/strong>\u2019s administration is going to need to push to have TVA board nominees approved by the U.S. Senate this year. Or he will have to start the nomination process all over when a new Congress takes over in January.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Five nominees have cleared the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and await full Senate action. Majority Leader <strong>Chuck Schumer<\/strong>, D-New York., determines when that vote would be taken. Some nominees have bipartisan support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">If the nominees aren\u2019t approved by the end of the year, the TVA board would not have a quorum for conducting business, which means some policy or budget decisions would be deferred until a quorum is regained, a spokesperson explained. The day-to-day operations are the responsibility of CEO <strong>Jeff Lyash<\/strong> and his team.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The five nominees approved by the committee on Sept. 29 are <strong>Michelle Moore<\/strong>, Richmond, Virginia; <strong>Robert Klein<\/strong>, Memphis; <strong>William Renick<\/strong>, Ashland, Mississippi; <strong>Adam Wade White<\/strong>, Eddyville, Kentucky, and <strong>Joe Ritch<\/strong>, Huntsville, Alabama. Ritch previously served on the TVA board 2013-17, and was chairman 2014-17. White is Lyon County judge-executive who chose not to seek re-election when his term ends in December.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Q&amp;A:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.knoxnews.com\/story\/news\/investigations\/2022\/10\/28\/tennessee-valley-authority-ceo-jeff-lyash-emissions-nuclear-and-solar\/69594487007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|spike click:7|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\"> TVA&#8217;s CEO on reaching carbon neutral and whether his agency is a &#8216;solar blocker&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">A sixth nominee, <strong>Beth Prichard Geer<\/strong> of Brentwood, who is former Vice President Al Gore\u2019s chief of staff, did not clear the committee. Her confirmation is being held up by Sen. <strong>Joni Ernst<\/strong>, R-Iowa. The two had an exchange at an April 6 hearing monitored by this columnist over what Geer meant when she tweeted \u201chideous\u201d in 2015 after Ernst responded to President <strong>Barack Obama<\/strong>\u2019s State of the Union Address.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">At a hearing, Minority Leader <strong>Mitch McConnell<\/strong>, R-Kentucky, introduced White, saying \u201che will bring both common sense and a unique Bluegrass perspective to this role.\u201d&nbsp; U.S. Sen. <strong>Roger Wicker<\/strong>, R-Mississippi, a committee member, introduced Renick and said he is \u201cthe right pick for the agency.\u201d Wicker touted Renick\u2019s credentials as a \u201cjob creator,\u201d who was workforce division director of the Three Rivers Planning and Development District and chairs the Mississippi Commission on the Future of North Mississippi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Ritch was introduced by U.S. Sen. <strong>Richard Shelby<\/strong>, R-Alabama, who cited his past experience with the board and recommended him for another term \u201cwithout reservation.\u201d Shelby described Ritch, a tax attorney, as a \u201cvery good, good strong Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The board has nine members. The terms of board members <strong>A. D. Frazier<\/strong> of Mineral Bluff, Georgia, and <strong>Jeff W. Smith<\/strong> of Knoxville ended in May. They serve until the end of the year if not replaced. Remaining on the board after 2022 will be <strong>William Kilbride<\/strong> of Chattanooga, chairman; <strong>Beth Harwell<\/strong>, Nashville, former Tennessee House speaker, and <strong>Brian Noland<\/strong>, Johnson City, president of East Tennessee State University.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The annual stipend for the chairman is $60,777, board members who serve as committee chairs, $55,693, and other board members, $54,613, according to the annual report filed with the SEC for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">TVA is a public corporation spanning parts of seven states that has the nation\u2019s largest public power operation. It is in the process of moving away from its coal operating fleet to other energy sources, including solar and renewable energy. It also engages in economic development with its main offices in Knoxville and Chattanooga.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Because of the uncertainty of a quorum in the future, the board has approved certain duties to the CEO to be exercised if needed. The Chattanooga Free Press reported on Sept. 6 that the board approved its fiscal year budget outside of a public board meeting on July 28 after several private meetings without public hearings. The budget however, was discussed at the meeting in Martin, Tennessee, and the Chattanooga paper reported TVA Director Frazier as saying it was necessary due to the minimal number of directors needed for a quorum and the rise of COVID cases at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Another appointment affected by Senate inaction is that of <strong>Casey Arrowood<\/strong>, an assistant attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, who was nominated by the Biden Administration to be the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Arrowood\u2019s nomination has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knoxnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2022\/11\/07\/joe-biden-nomination-anming-hu-prosecutor-stirs-anger\/69607046007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">drawn opposition from Asian communities<\/a> since he was the lead prosecutor in an espionage case against University of Tennessee professor <strong>Anming Hu<\/strong>, a Chinese Canadian. U.S. federal Judge T<strong>homas A. Varlan<\/strong> acquitted Hu of charges after a jury deadlocked, and Hu&#8217;s status at UT has resumed as a nanotechnology researcher.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Congressional records show that Arrowood\u2019s nomination has been sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee but no action has been taken there yet. U.S. Sen. <strong>Marsha Blackburn<\/strong>, R-Tennessee, is a committee member. This columnist attempted to get comment from her office this week, as well as that of U.S. Sen. <strong>Bill Hagerty<\/strong>, R-Tennessee, on the case but received no answer back by Friday.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>CITY ELECTIONS NEXT:<\/strong> Knoxville Mayor <strong>Indya Kincannon<\/strong> is launching her re-election campaign Thursday without a major known opponent going into the 2023 Knoxville elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Co-hosts for the event at The Standard, 416 W. Jackson Ave., are numerous and include some business people usually associated with Republicans like <strong>Pete DeBusk<\/strong> of DeRoyal Industries. The city elections are nonpartisan but generally the political party persuasion of candidates is known, with Kincannon identifying as a Democrat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">One potential opponent was Knox County Commissioner <strong>Larsen Jay<\/strong>, a Republican&nbsp;who last week said he does not plan to run for mayor against Kincannon. Speculation started this year that he might be a candidate when he and his family moved to West Hills from West Knox County.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI\u2019m going to stay focused on the county. If there is an opportunity to serve (in another capacity), I\u2019ll take it as it comes,\u201d Jay said. He was just re-elected in August to a second four-year term on County Commission.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Kincannon\u2019s kick-off party runs 6-8 p.m. Among the co-hosts are former Knoxville mayors <strong>Madeline Rogero<\/strong>, <strong>Dan Brown<\/strong> and <strong>Randy Tyree<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_gl gnt_em__el\" href=\"https:\/\/www.knoxnews.com\/picture-gallery\/money\/business\/2019\/11\/22\/indya-kincannon-through-years\/4274980002\/\" data-t-l=\":l|l|c|view gallery:inline promo\" aria-label=\"View Gallery - Indya Kincannon through the years\" data-g-r=\"nav_mo\" data-g-tn=\"pgcss\" data-g-mtn=\"pg4274980002\" data-g-moh=\"hpgm\" data-c-id=\"4274980002\"><img class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/be8cc3c4-173d-4c54-a04d-155e23db8041-KNS-coronavirus_kincannon_BP_3-scaled.jpg,2025,x0,y268&amp;width=660&amp;height=372&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" data-gl-srcset=\"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/be8cc3c4-173d-4c54-a04d-155e23db8041-KNS-coronavirus_kincannon_BP_3-scaled.jpg,2025,x0,y268&amp;width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\" src \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>REMEMBERING BILL:<\/strong> A celebration of life for <strong>Bill Rukeyser<\/strong> will be at 11 a.m. Dec. 2 at the University of Tennessee Medical Center auditorium, his wife, <strong>Elisabeth<\/strong>, announced. The 83-year-old was diagnosed with lung cancer and other illnesses this summer and died on Aug. 16. At his request, no funeral was held at the time, his wife said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>William S. Rukeyser<\/strong> came to Knoxville with Whittle Communications in 1998 with a background as managing editor of Fortune magazine and founding editor of Money magazine. He was editor of Whittle\u2019s books projects. After Whittle left Knoxville, the Rukeysers remained, with Bill creating a publication, Corporate Board Member magazine, and serving on boards of the University Health Systems, where he was board chairman;&nbsp;Knoxville Museum of Art and Knoxville History Project. He also was on the board of the Overseas Press Club Foundation and a liaison with the Princeton Press Club at Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1961. He also studied at Christ\u2019s College at Cambridge University in England.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">He was the son of the late financial journalist <strong>Merryle S. Rukeyser<\/strong> and younger brother of the late financial commentator <strong>Louis Rukeyser<\/strong> of Wall Street Week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Georgiana Vines is retired News Sentinel associate editor. She may be reached at <a href=\"mailto:gvpolitics@hotmail.com\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">gvpolitics@hotmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that midterm elections are over, President Joe Biden\u2019s administration is going to need to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30001"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30001"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30007,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30001\/revisions\/30007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}