Senate Democrats Obstruct Bipartisan Effort to Protect Ratepayers from Data Center Costs
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Senate Democrats blocked the Ratepayer Protection Act, a common-sense, bipartisan bill that would have required big tech developers to pay their fair share for water and electricity costs, siding instead with bureaucratic overreach and partisan obstruction. The bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
The Senate voted 57-43 on Wednesday to block the Ratepayer Protection Act, a straightforward bill designed to set a federal standard requiring developers of large data centers to reimburse state public utility commissions for water and electricity costs that would otherwise be passed on to hardworking ratepayers. The measure had already passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support, 417-3.
The Senate version, sponsored by Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio—who is seeking a full term after being appointed—was a clear attempt to rein in out-of-control costs and protect American families from the burdens imposed by tech giants. Husted noted that Democrats had claimed to want lower electricity prices, and that passing the bill would have sent it to the president’s desk for a rare bipartisan victory.
Instead, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer chose to play politics, dismissing the legislation as optional for states and insufficient, calling it a “fraud” and pushing for even more heavy-handed government intervention through alternative proposals from Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Martin Heinrich that would impose stricter, job-killing regulations on data centers.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune pointed out that the House’s overwhelming vote demonstrated true bipartisan support, noting that even prominent House Democrats had voted for it. He argued that the Senate should follow suit and deliver real relief to ratepayers.
A recent poll showed that the public is wary of unchecked data center expansion, with many voters less likely to support candidates who favor such projects. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who is retiring, agreed that Husted was right to raise the issue but expressed skepticism that the bill would achieve much, suggesting that utility regulation is best left to state and local governments rather than federal bureaucrats.