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\n

Pressure is growing on House GOP leaders to allow a floor vote before the midterms on legislation designed to shield their constituents from the costs associated with data centers, with an increasing number of Republicans worried that mounting opposition to the energy-sucking facilities could hurt them at the polls.<\/p>\n

Reeling from voter complaints over the five-week summer recess about rising power prices linked to the nationwide data center boom \u2014 necessary to power the growing artificial intelligence demand \u2014 some Republicans are now pressing for action around a bill called the Ratepayer Protection Act.<\/p>\n

The bipartisan measure, which advanced unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July, would require states to consider adopting a federal standard that would ensure data centers cover the costs of the grid upgrades needed to serve them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m encouraged by the momentum behind the Ratepayer Protection Act, and I\u2019m hopeful we\u2019ll see it come to the floor when Congress returns in September,\u201d Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), an original sponsor of the bill alongside Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), said in a statement Wednesday. \u201cThis legislation earned unanimous bipartisan support in committee, and we continue to see more members sign on every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

But GOP leaders are so far undecided on whether to bring the measure up before the November elections \u2014 driving anxiety among Republicans who fear they\u2019re politically vulnerable on an increasingly polarizing issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve reached out to Majority Leader [Steve] Scalise to let him know that we\u2019d like to see the Ratepayer Protection Act on the floor as soon as the House comes back from August recess,\u201d said an aide for a Republican member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, granted anonymity to describe internal party dynamics. \u201cOur constituents are demanding substantive action on data centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another House GOP aide, also granted anonymity to speak candidly, was even more blunt about the political urgency at play: \u201cThere\u2019s not really a point in passing this bill after the election.\u201d<\/p>\n

When members return to Washington Monday after the August recess, the House is only scheduled to be in session for 15 days before breaking again until after the November elections. A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson declined to comment on the floor agenda for the latter half of September.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Scalise, meanwhile, said Wednesday night that \u201cno decisions have been made as leadership has heard concerns from members about the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson didn’t elaborate on those concerns, but Scalise, in earlier comments provided to Blue Light News, said the data center dilemma is ultimately \u201ca local issue\u201d \u2014 underscoring an aversion to strict federal regulations shared by many conservatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want a data center in your community, it\u2019s your choice,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019m from a state where we have several major data centers, and we are seeing tremendous benefits from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Scalise said, increased tax revenue from Meta\u2019s $50 billion data center has led to every teacher in Louisiana’s rural Richland Parish getting a $50,000 bonus. And in Loudoun County, Virginia, he noted that increased revenue from data centers has led to a 30 percent decrease in property taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are tremendous benefits for communities who embrace data centers \u2026 They’re good customers, they’re good neighbors and studies prove that they don\u2019t add to the cost of the grid,\u201d Scalise said. \u201cThey\u2019re paying their own way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson, from Louisiana like Scalise, has similarly highlighted the economic potential of data centers while stressing the importance of maintaining local control. He told CBS Colorado in a recent interview that \u201cmy constituents are delighted to have [data centers]\u201d and that they have \u201cwelcomed them with open arms.<\/p>\n

In February, Amazon announced a $12 billion data center project in Shreveport, the most populous city in Johnson\u2019s district. The company announced another $6 billion expansion there in August.<\/p>\n

But there are signs some of Johnson\u2019s constituents are more wary of data center projects: At a recent town hall dubbed \u201cThe Truth About Data Centers,\u201d residents voiced concerns<\/u><\/a> about the facilities and their potential impacts on their community.<\/p>\n

The political winds across key swing states and districts also appear to be quickly shifting against data centers. Backlash has prompted Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers to announce<\/u><\/a> last week that he would support a one-year data center moratorium in his state as he battles Democratic contender Abdul El-Sayed.<\/p>\n

Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who is in a competitive race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, has pledged he\u2019ll work to make sure the Senate passes the version of the Ratepayer Protection Act he has sponsored in his chamber.<\/p>\n

In the House, the Ratepayer Protection Act could end up being an easy way for Johnson and Scalise to demonstrate that Republicans are responding to voters’ calls to take the issue seriously.<\/p>\n

The measure wouldn\u2019t go so far as to impose a pause on data center construction but would still infuse a level of accountability on operators. It also would codify the principle behind the Trump administration\u2019s voluntary agreement with data center developers that they should shoulder energy costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout August, members have heard directly from constituents that data center development and affordability are among their top concerns,\u201d Evans said in his Wednesday statement. \u201cThis bill tackles both by ensuring hardworking families and small businesses aren\u2019t forced to foot the bill for the massive energy demands of data centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether the bill eventually becomes law, Francesca Hsie \u2014 deputy director for electricity at center-left think tank Third Way \u2014 said the Ratepayer Protection Act could have the effect of \u201csignaling to states\u201d the need to take up regulation.<\/p>\n

Whether imagined or real, she said, public perception is that data center expansion is \u201cinextricably linked\u201d to rising energy costs, \u201cand because of that, I think the public is really wanting politicians to show some sort of engagement or regulation of how buildout is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owen Dahlkamp contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pressure is growing on House GOP leaders to allow a floor vote before the midterms on legislation designed to shield their constituents from the costs associated with data centers, with an increasing number of Republicans worried that mounting opposition to the energy-sucking facilities could hurt them at the polls. Reeling from voter complaints over the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26925\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}