A top Democrat thwarted Republican-led Senate legislation that attempted to prevent Americans from paying high energy costs associated with data centers, despite the bill getting overwhelming bipartisan support in the House the day before.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, on Sept. 17 blocked the Ratepayer Protection Act, a bill that denied Republicans a key legislative win less than two months ahead of the crucial midterm elections. The block also curtailed the bill's sponsor, Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), much-needed momentum as the incumbent in a closely contested race against former Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown that could reshape the GOP-led Senate.
Husted lobbied the Senate for unanimous consent to pass the bill. He described it as "the
most meaningful bipartisan step Congress could take to protect the American people from higher prices for electricity."
However, Heinrich, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, argued that the measure didn't go far enough.
"The senator from Ohio and I agree on one thing: AI data centers can mean higher costs for American families, and in a lot of places they already do," Heinrich said. "But the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short of what we need to do to respond."
Democratic senator wanted data center legislation 'with real teeth'
Heinrich added that Congress needs to pass "real legislation with real teeth." The senator then introduced his own bill, titled the GRID Savings Act, which sought to eliminate the burden on Americans of paying electricity costs from data centers.
"My bill is what is needed to start to bring down energy prices," Heinrich said, arguing that data center providers need to engage with communities from start to finish. "We need to conserve local resources, especially water.
"And we need to protect communities from air pollution by using clean energy and battery storage," Heinrich added. "But we're not going to get there with the bill that the senator from Ohio has proposed."
Heinrich then sought unanimous consent to get his proposed legislation passed, yet Sen. Bernie Moreno, Ohio's other Republican senator, objected. Moreno took exception to Heinrich blocking the House-passed bill, which passed 417-3 on Sept. 16, that Moreno believed would give Americans some immediate relief.
"The term do-nothing Congress exists for a reason," Moreno told the chamber. "We absolutely accomplished that right now."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Data center bill to lower Americans' energy costs blocked by Democrat
