February 27, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 36 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S1512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of John L. Ryder

  Mr. President, I also rise in support of the nomination of John L. 
Ryder to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee 
Valley Authority, the TVA.
  The TVA serves 9 million people in parts of seven Southeastern 
States. It provides affordable electricity for business customers and 
local power companies, for flood control, navigation, and land 
management for the Tennessee River system, plus economic development 
for the region. The TVA is credited with transforming the region into a 
growing population and a growing economic base.
  With over 40 years of experience as a lawyer, Mr. Ryder will be a 
strong complement to the TVA's Board of Directors. The Environment and 
Public Works Committee attested to this fact when it reported his 
nomination favorably to the Senate by a voice vote twice--first, on May 
22, 2018, during the 115th Congress, and the next on February 5 of this 
year after he had to be renominated during this Congress because of the 
delays in the nomination approval process last year. Mr. Ryder is 
another example of how the confirmation process has deliberately run 
aground. Mr. Ryder, in normal times, would have been confirmed and in 
office last summer. Instead, we have to go through a cloture vote on a 
well-qualified nominee who has twice been reported unanimously through 
the Environment and Public Works Committee.
  Let's not delay this any longer. I urge my colleagues to vote with me 
in supporting the nomination of John L. Ryder to be a member of the 
Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
  I thank the Presiding Officer.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.