{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415843", "Shielding NJ families and communities from high energy costsSmith votes for Ratepayer Protection Act to protect Americans from footing AI data centers\u2019 energy costs", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Yesterday, with Rep. Chris Smith\u2019s (R-Manchester) strong support and vote, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Ratepayer Protection Act (HR 9340)\u2014by a margin of 417-3\u2014to protect hard-working Americans from shouldering the hefty energy costs associated with the construction and operation of data centers.\n\n\u201cProtecting families and communities from increased energy costs is paramount\u2014especially after years of skyrocketing energy costs driven by Joe Biden\u2019s \u2018Green New Scam,\u2019\u201d said Smith.\n\n\u201cThe Ratepayer Protection Act will inject transparency and public scrutiny into the system to ensure that the largest users of energy\u2014including hyperscale data centers\u2014pay for energy infrastructure upgrades and generation capacity,\u201d continued Smith, who cosponsored HR 9340.\n\nThe Ratepayer Protection Act amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act by adding a new ratemaking standard for large-load customers, ensuring that the costs associated with grid upgrades and new generation requirements are borne by the project customer and not American families.\n\n\u201cAmerican families deserve protection from exorbitant and unpredictable energy bills, and this legislation ensures that the companies who want to build and operate data centers will be made to pay for the massive amounts of electricity they consume.\n\n\u201cI strongly support the Ratepayer Protection Act, and although the Senate blocked unanimous consent for the legislation, I urge my colleagues in that chamber to immediately reconsider this bill, pass it, and send it to President Trump\u2019s desk for his signature,\u201d concluded Smith.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415843"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7060146890580654, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}