{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=5582A20D-E925-41FE-AA89-946835D7EECD", "Alexander: Senate Confirms Four New Members of TVA Board of Directors", "2017-12-22", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "NASHVILLE, December 22,2017 United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Senate confirmed four of President Trumps nominees  including Jeff Smith of Tennesseeto the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors.\r\n\r\nIm glad the Senate confirmed these nominations so the new board members can get to work at the nations largest public utility,Alexander said.Each of these nominees understands that TVA must continue to provide cheap, clean, reliable electricity for homes and businesses throughout the seven-state Tennessee Valley region. I appreciate the president selecting such well-qualified nominees, and I look forward to working with them in the coming years.\r\n\r\nOne of the four nominees confirmed was Tennessean Jeff Smith.AlexanderintroducedSmith athis confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in November,saying that because of his expertise in nuclear energy,his background in management of a large facility and his understanding of large construction projects, he will make an excellent TVA board member. President TrumpannouncedSmiths nomination in September.\r\nSen. Alexander and Sen. Corker recommended Mr. Smith, who is the Deputy Lab Director for Operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, because of his background in nuclear energy. Oak Ridge National Laboratory employs nearly 5,000 people and has a budget of $1.4 billion. Mr. Smith, who is a resident of East Tennessee, will bring his experience to the nations largest public utility which has an annual budget of over $10 billion and employs more than 10,000 people.\r\nKenneth E. Allen of Kentucky, James R. Thompson III of Alabama, and A.D. Frazier of Georgia were also confirmed to serve on the TVA board.\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=5582A20D-E925-41FE-AA89-946835D7EECD"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6741178222000599, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}