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By Amanda Greenwood
Associate News Editor
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Twenty-five U.S. senators voted against advancing a sweeping energy and infrastructure bill that includes a provision intended to make data centers pay for the electricity and grid upgrades they require.
The Senate voted 73-25 on Monday to advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, clearing the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward. However, the vote was procedural, meaning senators voted to advance the legislation for debate rather than give it final approval.
The bill is much broader than data centers. It aims to speed up federal reviews and approvals for major energy and infrastructure projects, which can currently take years.
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One provision would require AI companies and data center developers to cover the costs of the power and grid improvements needed to serve their facilities. The issue has become increasingly important as the rapid expansion of AI increases demand for electricity across the country.
In North Carolina, for example, Jeff Jackson, the state's attorney general, has argued that households should not be left paying infrastructure costs created by enormous data centers. North Carolina Department of Justice said Duke Energy projects that more than 80 percent of the new electricity demand it needs to meet will come from data centers and other large energy users.
"Trillion-dollar tech companies can afford to build the infrastructure they need to power their data centers. North Carolina families shouldn't have to pay for that," Jackson said.
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Who Voted Against the Bill?
The 25 senators who voted against advancing the bill were:
Democrats: Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Patty Murray of Washington, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Peter Welch of Vermont and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
They were joined by independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds, who was the only Republican to vote "Nay."
Newsweek has contacted several of the offices of the senators who voted against advancing the legislation, including Alsobrooks, Baldwin, Bennet, and Booker, for comment on why they opposed the measure and whether they support its provision requiring data centers to pay the costs associated with their electricity demand.
Why Did Senators Vote Against It?
Voting against the measure doesn’t necessarily mean the senators were opposed to the idea of making data centers pay for their own energy costs.
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Jeff Merkley, one of the opponents, said that "data centers should pay their fair share for the resources they use" and that he strongly supported parts of the legislation. However, he opposed the overall package because he believed its other provisions would encourage fossil-fuel development and weaken environmental protections.
Merkley said the legislation could make it easier to build data centers powered by natural gas plants and expand natural gas pipelines and exports. He also raised concerns that it would restrict states' ability to address water-quality concerns, give communities less time to challenge projects, and affect Tribal rights.
"Permitting reform for electrical transmission lines is essential," Merkley said. "But the current bill raises too many serious issues that require more deliberation."
Chris Van Hollen also explained his opposition. The Maryland Democrat said the legislation didn’t adequately address the Trump administration's efforts to block a proposed offshore wind project in Maryland and argued that it undermined protections for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. He said, “This bill is unfortunately lacking key provisions that are central to communities across Maryland.”
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon, Gray R. Thomas
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