Washington — Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican-backed bill intended to protect Americans from energy costs linked to data centers, even though the legislation won overwhelming bipartisan approval in the House earlier this month.
The measure failed in a 57-43 vote, with only four Democrats — Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock — joining Republicans. Democrats said the bill would leave consumer protections effectively “optional.”
“While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “We need real action on data centers, and what do Republicans decide all of a sudden to push forward? A bill that is totally optional.”
The vote denied Republicans a legislative win just weeks before the midterm elections. Opposition to new data centers — the massive facilities that supply the computing power behind the artificial intelligence boom — has been growing nationwide. Republicans, however, said the vote would force Democrats to take a public position on an issue that has gained momentum in recent months.
Known as the Ratepayer Protection Act, the bill would direct the costs of new energy infrastructure built for data centers to the companies using it rather than to consumers. But the legislation would only require state utility regulators to consider standards for holding those companies financially responsible — a limitation Democrats said makes the proposal too weak.
The House approved the legislation earlier this month by a 417-3 vote.
Asked why Senate Democrats were rejecting a bill supported by so many House Democrats, Schumer responded, “We don’t vote for frauds.”
Schumer said the proposal creates a voluntary framework and emphasized that “not a single company has to comply with it.” If Republicans, including GOP Sen. Jon Husted, wanted a meaningful solution, he said, they should consider legislation introduced by a Democratic senator that would be “real and has teeth.”
“They want it optional, which means zero,” Schumer said. “We want it mandatory.”
Husted is facing a competitive Senate race in Ohio against former Sen. Sherrod Brown and has come under scrutiny for his earlier support of data centers. In a memo issued last month, the Senate GOP campaign arm said the issue was “the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”
Earlier this month, Husted attempted to advance the same bill through unanimous consent, a procedure that allows any one senator to block passage. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, instead proposed his own legislation, which he said was “what is needed to start to bring down energy prices.” Ohio’s other senator objected to Heinrich’s proposal.
Wednesday’s vote came as senators prepared to leave Washington for the week and return to the campaign trail. Senate Republicans scheduled the data center vote alongside a proposal to restrict congressional stock trading, which Democrats also blocked.
Speaking on the Senate floor before the vote, Heinrich called the data center legislation “nothing more than a messaging bill on the eve of an election.”
“Congress needs to pass a law with real teeth,” he said.
