Report on Shuler headed to House ethics panel

Congressional Quarterly is reporting that the Tennessee Valley Authority Inspector General's report is headed to the House ethics committee and Rep. Heath Shuler's conduct and that of his representatives is in question.

The inspector general of the Tennessee Valley Authority has forwarded to the House ethics committee a report saying that Rep. Heath Shuler contributed to the appearance of preferential treatment when he was an investor in a development that sought water access from the authority.

The inspector general drew no conclusions, however, about whether Shuler violated House ethics rules.

The report noted that Shuler, D-N.C., was a member of the House subcommittee that directly oversees the TVA at the time that the developers, the Cove at Blackberry Ridge, sought lakefront access near Knoxville, Tenn.

To be clear, the report found that neither Shuler nor his representatives used his position as a United States Congressman to pressure the TVA to grant the shoreline access to the development or company in which Shuler is an investor. The report isn't charging that Shuler did anything illegal.

However, he isn't off the hook entirely.

“The appearance of preferential treatment was exacerbated by Shuler’s representatives dropping Shuler’s name with TVA employees,” the report stated.

So, someone was calling up TVA employees and reminding them that one of the investors was a U.S. Congressman who just happened to sit on the subcommittee that oversees the TVA. Did they do it with Shuler's permission? I didn't see the entire statement, but Shuler didn't address whether he allowed his name to be used. Here is his statement:

“The Inspector General determined that “there is no evidence that Shuler used his position as a United States Congressman to pressure TVA,” the statement said. “I commend the men and women of the Inspector General’s office for their professionalism and thoroughness during this process.”

Shuler can't control how others use his name and he should be able to continue his real estate business while he's serving in Congress. Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call for him to make sure others aren't using his name for his and their own benefit.