Jon Husted set to call a floor vote on data center energy legislation

The Senate is set to vote on a bill aimed at shielding households from the energy costs associated with data centers.Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) plans to request a unanimous consent vote Thursday afternoon on his companion bill, the Ratepayer Protection Act, shortly following the bill’s passage in the House. A unanimous consent vote is a fast-track way to pass a resolution by asking whether anyone objects, instead of taking a roll-call vote.The Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House Wednesday evening in a 417-3 vote. It was originally introduced by Reps. Gabe Evans (R-CO) and co-sponsored by Kathy Castor (D-FL). Husted introduced a companion bill in July. The resolution would require state regulators to create standards for new data centers and hyperscalers that consume over 100 megawatts of electricity to cover the costs of new generation, transmission, and infrastructure upgrades.The bill in the House received bipartisan backing, but some Democrats have raised concerns that it does not go far enough to address issues related to data centers, which could make it challenging to pass in the Senate.Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) wrote on X on Tuesday that she would vote against the bill because it “fails to meaningfully protect our communities.” She instead called for a national moratorium on data centers and to enact a data center prohibition on federal lands.There’s been growing support among Democrats for a moratorium on data center construction.Over the summer, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) also called for a ban on data centers, making him the highest-ranking Democrat to support a nationwide ban on data centers.Others who have called for a moratorium include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who introduced a bill in March to pause new data center development while lawmakers work on artificial intelligence regulations.Evans told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that data center bans push buildouts overseas to China, making it more challenging for the United States to compete with Beijing. HOUSE PASSES BILL TO SHIELD HOUSEHOLDS FROM DATA CENTER ENERGY COSTS“Tell me how that helps us stay course or beat China,” he said. “Just because something doesn’t get built in the United States doesn’t mean it doesn’t get built at all.”The resolution mirrors the Trump administration’s White House ratepayer protection pledge, in which big tech, governors, utilities, and data centers pledge to prevent households from bearing the energy costs associated with data center construction.