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Hannah Parry

By Hannah Parry

Associate News Editor

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Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican-backed bill to prevent households and small businesses from bearing the cost of electricity infrastructure needed for large data centers, setting up a new political fight over the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The Ratepayer Protection Act failed to clear a procedural hurdle, 57-43, falling three votes short of the 60 needed to advance. The legislation had passed the House earlier this month by an overwhelming 417-3 vote. The opposition included two independent senators who caucus with Democrats, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.

Four Democrats—Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia—voted for the bill.

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Democrats who opposed the bill have branded it "toothless" and argued it doesn't go far enough because it makes it optional whether data centers pay for the additional grid infrastructure they require.

The vote comes amid growing debate in Washington over rapidly increasing electricity demand from large-scale data centers and the costs that may be borne by utilities and electricity customers.

Senator Cory Booker attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, on September 29, 2026.

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What Is the Ratepayer Protection Act?

The legislation, championed by Republican Senator Jon Husted, would require states to consider adopting standards under which large electricity users, including data centers, would pay for the incremental costs of generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure needed to serve them.

The bill applies to large-load customers, including facilities with substantial electricity demands associated with AI and cloud computing.

But there is an important limitation: States would not be required to adopt the proposed standards. Instead, state regulators would be required to consider the issue and make a determination within a specified period.

Husted has argued that the measure would help prevent ordinary electricity customers from subsidizing AI infrastructure expansion.

“If America wants to lead the world in AI and strengthen our national security, we have to build the energy infrastructure to support it,” Husted said when introducing the legislation. “But we must do that without passing the costs on to working families and small businesses.”

The bill would build on the administration's voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which seeks commitments from utilities, technology companies and other participants in the data-center industry to prevent infrastructure costs from being shifted to other electricity customers.

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Newsweek Rates Where Politicians Stand On AI

To assess where lawmakers stand on AI, Newsweek created the AI Policy Scorecard, which places all 537 sitting members of Congress—including senators, representatives and nonvoting House delegates—on a five-point scale ranging from AI Skeptic (1) to AI Booster (5). The score reflects each member’s positions across five policy areas: Regulation & Governance, Data Centers & Energy, Jobs & Economy, Safety & Privacy, and National Security & China.

The rankings are based on the official congressional record, including roll-call votes and bill sponsorship, along with a broad review of lawmakers’ public statements.

Overall, the two parties tend to fall on opposite sides of the scale. The average Democrat scores 2.60, placing the party in the Lean Skeptic category, while the average Republican scores 3.26, putting the party in Lean Booster territory. However, the partisan gap remains relatively narrow: the difference between the two averages is 0.66 points on a five-point scale.

Why Democrats Voted Against the Bill

The central Democratic objection is that the legislation is optional rather than mandatory.

Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has pushed an alternative called the GRID Savings Act that would require large electricity users to pay for the grid infrastructure needed to connect them.

“When I open my electricity bill, and read to see how much I owe for the month, it doesn’t say I ‘may’ pay that amount,” Heinrich said while opposing Husted's bill. He argued that Congress needs “real legislation, with real teeth” rather than voluntary standards.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York made a similar argument, describing the Republican proposal as “toothless” and saying its requirements were essentially optional.

“Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “But all the Republicans offer is a toothless messaging bill.”

Schumer said the word that best described the legislation was “optional.”

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia also argued that Congress needs broader requirements covering not only electricity costs but also water consumption, transparency and community impacts.

Warner said the Ratepayer Protection Act would merely direct states to consider a standard, while leaving them free not to adopt it.

Full List of Senate Democrats Voting Against the Measure

Who Voted for the AI Data Center Bill?

The Senate vote was 57-43. The four Democrats voting yes were:

The remaining 53 yes votes came from Senate Republicans, including key figures such as Majority Leader John Thune (Newsweek AI Policy Score of 4.3: Booster), Ted Cruz (Newsweek AI Policy Score of 4.2: Booster) and Mitch McConnell (Newsweek AI Policy Score: Not Enough Data).

Why Are Data Centers So Controversial?

AI data centers can require enormous amounts of electricity, particularly as companies build facilities designed to run increasingly powerful computing systems. That has raised questions about who should pay for new power plants, transmission lines and other infrastructure required to serve them.

Supporters of data-center development argue that the facilities bring investment, construction activity and technology jobs while strengthening U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence. Critics focus on costs and local impacts, including electricity prices, water consumption, land use, tax incentives and the transparency of development agreements.

The controversy is especially pronounced in states that have aggressively courted the industry.

In Virginia, for example, data center development has become a campaign issue as residents debate electricity costs and tax incentives.

In Georgia, Warnock has called for a statewide moratorium on data centers unless additional community safeguards are put in place. His comments came after state regulators approved a proposed 3.2-gigawatt OpenAI facility in Effingham County.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has also moved to impose additional requirements on data-center projects, including standards concerning energy affordability, environmental protection, transparency and community engagement.

How Data Centers Are Impacting the 2026 Midterms

The issue is increasingly appearing in competitive races, particularly in states where residents are confronting new projects.

Ohio

The most prominent example is the Ohio Senate race between Husted and Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown.

Husted has made the Ratepayer Protection Act a centerpiece of his argument that data centers can expand without forcing households to shoulder their infrastructure costs.

Brown, meanwhile, has made Husted's previous support for data-center development in Ohio a campaign issue. Brown has described Husted as the “face of data centers” in Ohio and has argued that investors, rather than local residents, should pay the electricity costs associated with the facilities.

Georgia

Data centers have also become an issue in Georgia, where both Ossoff and Warnock broke with fellow Democrats and voted for the Senate bill Wednesday, even as Warnock has separately called for stronger state safeguards.

Georgia is projected to have roughly 60 large data centers by the end of 2026, with another 119 planned, according to data cited by Axios. The growth has generated disputes over electricity, water and local development.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms has called for a statewide pause on new data-center development.

Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wyoming

Republican candidate Stacy Garrity has advocated a pause on new data-center development and mandatory rules, while Shapiro has pursued regulatory requirements and transparency measures through executive action.

The backlash has also reached Michigan, where Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has called for state and federal moratoriums on new data centers.

In Wyoming, Republican congressional candidate Chuck Gray has run on a platform that includes stopping data centers and calling for a federal ban, illustrating that opposition to data-center expansion is not confined to one political party.

What Happens Next

The Senate vote leaves the Ratepayer Protection Act short of becoming law, but the debate over who should pay for the electricity infrastructure large data centers need is unlikely to end with Wednesday's vote.

A separate bipartisan permitting agreement unveiled Wednesday could offer lawmakers another path to address data-center electricity costs. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, introduced by Heinrich, Lee, Whitehouse and Republican Shelley Moore Capito, would reform the federal environmental review and permitting process while requiring data centers to pay for all of their associated transmission costs.

For now, today's Senate vote gives both parties powerful ammunition ahead of November midterms: Republicans can point to the 57-43 vote as evidence that Democrats blocked legislation addressing household electricity costs, while Democrats can argue that the bill's voluntary approach would not guarantee that data centers actually pay the additional costs they create.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant and Sam Wilson.

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