Muscle Shoals Bill
The Muscle Shoals Bill was designed to build a dam in the Tennessee River and sell government-produced electricity. Congress passed bills to harness energy from the Tennessee River, but presidents Coolidge and Hoover insisted that private enterprise should do the job, and vetoed the bills.
The chief sponsor, Senator George Norris of Nebraska, had blocked a proposal from Henry Ford to develop the dam site.
Hoover's veto message stated:
Norris demanded public power because he distrusted privately owned utilities. Norris said of Hoover:
The idea for the Muscle Shoals Bill in 1933 became part of the New Deal's Tennessee Valley Authority.
