Press Releases

Congressman Ben McAdams has joined bipartisan opposition to President Trump’s budget proposal to privatize the public electrical transmission assets that now serve millions of rural, urban and tribal communities with reliable, affordable power.  McAdams signed a letter to the chair and ranking member of the House Budget Committee, along with 60 other Democrats and Republicans.

The administration is proposing the sale of the transmission assets of Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) within the Department of Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The Bonneville Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration and the Western Area Power Administration are included. The power is generated by a system of hydropower projects built across the U.S.

“The sale of these assets would result in the federal government abandoning a successful and efficient solution for providing affordable power to rural, urban and tribal communities,” the letter states. “Costs would inevitably rise in order to fulfill the profit-motive of private owners as the federal government once again attempts to ‘fix’ something that is not broken.”