Senate Blocks Data Center Energy Bill on 57-43 Vote as Four Democrats Defect

The Senate voted 57-43 on Wednesday to block a Republican bill meant to keep the cost of new data centers off household electricity bills. The measure needed 60 votes to move forward.

Four Democrats voted to advance it: Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. The rest of the Democratic caucus voted no.

The bill, the Ratepayer Protection Act, was written by Sen. Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican. It passed the House earlier this month 417-3, with more than 200 Democrats voting yes.

The bill would amend a 1978 energy law so that state utility regulators must consider a federal standard: large data centers, those using 100 megawatts or more, would pay the full extra cost of the power generation and grid upgrades built to serve them.

Husted’s case is that families and small businesses should not foot the bill for the infrastructure feeding the AI boom. Data centers are driving up electricity demand, and without a rule, the cost of new transmission and distribution gets folded into everyone’s rates. Republicans said Wednesday was the second time this month Democrats blocked the bill from advancing.

Democrats said the bill was optional

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill goes nowhere near far enough. Democrats want data centers required by law to pay their own way, he said, not merely urged to.

“While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “This shoddy bill couldn’t get any flimsier.”

Democrats argued the bill only asks state regulators to “consider” a standard, with no enforcement behind it. “Not a single company has to comply with it,” Schumer said. Asked why House Democrats backed a measure Senate Democrats now oppose, he said, “We don’t vote for frauds.”

Both parties read the same politics

The split had a campaign-season edge on both sides. Ossoff is running in a competitive Senate race in Georgia and said after the vote the bill was “worthy of debate.” “Thanks to Donald Trump, it costs more than ever in American history to power your home,” he said.

Husted is also in a competitive race in Ohio, where he has taken heat from both parties over data centers. After the vote, he accused Democrats of obstruction on electricity prices. “Now they own it. The Democrats are obstructionists on lowering electricity prices for American consumers,” he told Punchbowl News.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended the bill, noting that nearly every House Democrat had voted for it.

The vote was one of the Senate’s last before members leave Washington until after the midterm elections in November. Data centers and the electricity they draw have become a top-tier campaign issue, as the AI boom pushes power demand higher and voters complain about rising utility bills.