{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.husted.senate.gov/media/press-releases/democrats-block-husteds-bill-forcing-data-centers-to-pay-their-own-way/", "Democrats block Husted\u2019s bill forcing data centers to pay their own way", "2026-09-30", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "OH", "Jon Husted", "H001104", "www.husted.senate.gov", "husted", "https://www.husted.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "\u201cLet\u2019s rise above the politics that often drag this place down and deliver for the American people and do our jobs.\u201d\n\nView Husted\u2019s remarks here.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 The U.S. Senate attempted to advance Sen. Jon Husted\u2019s (R-Ohio) Ratepayer Protection Act, but the bill failed after Democrats opposed the bill.\n\n43 Senate Democrats voted NO, preventing the bill from reaching the 60-vote threshold to advance for a vote on passage.\n\nThe Ratepayer Protection Act would require states to consider establishing standards for states and Public Utility Commissions when connecting large electricity users\u2014such as data centers\u2014to the grid. It ensures those large tech companies, not families or small businesses, pay for the power generation, transmission lines and other infrastructure needed to serve their facilities. Without those protections, utilities can shift those costs onto ratepayers through higher monthly electricity bills.\n\nHusted introduced the bill on July 16, 2026.\n\nThe Ratepayer Protection Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 16, 2026, by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 417-3.\n\nHusted previously brought the bill to the Senate floor on Sept. 17, 2026, seeking its passage by unanimous consent\u2014a process that expedites consideration of legislation in the U.S. Senate. A Senate Democrat objected, blocking the bill from Senate passage.\n\nThe White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy stating the President would\u2019ve signed the Ratepayer Protection Act into law if passed.\n\nKey excerpts include:\n\n\u201cI rise today to speak about making life more affordable by lowering electricity prices through my bill, the Ratepayer Protection Act.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cAmericans are increasingly relying on the computing power of data centers in nearly every part of their daily lives, from medicine to manufacturing to agriculture, education, national defense and the delivery of basic services.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cAs our reliance on this technology grows, so does the demand for data centers across the country.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cWe have to make sure that the growth of these data centers does not mean higher electric bills for working families, for senior citizens or for small businesses.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re talking about today.\n\n\u201cMaking the data centers accountable, not the American ratepayer.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019ve introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act.\n\n\u201cMy bill ensures that large data centers pay their fair share of electricity costs, infrastructure costs that they require, requiring them to own the responsibility for those costs rather than shifting them to other ratepayers.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cSo today we are considering the House passed version of my bill before this chamber.\n\n\u201cIt passed the House 417 to 3.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cIt could be law today if we just decide that we\u2019re going to look out for the American ratepayer, and we\u2019re going to take action to do so.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cAnd among those who voted yes on the Democratic side were Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and every single member of the House Democratic leadership.\n\n\u201cThey all supported the bill in the House.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cThe Ratepayer Protection Act is such a no brainer that almost the most conservative and the most liberal representatives all agreed it was good policy.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cAll we have to do is take yes for an answer.\n\n\u201cAnd we will begin today lowering electricity rates for American ratepayers.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s clear that big tech should be paying their own way, not passing the cost on to local communities and states.\n\n\u201cAnd this bill does that.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cTogether, we can send this bill to the president\u2019s desk for his signature today and prove to the American people we heard them, that we\u2019re doing something to actually help lower their prices, the prices that they pay for electricity.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cThe Ratepayer Protection Act represents the most meaningful bipartisan step Congress can take to protect the American people from paying higher prices for electricity.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cIt demonstrates that in Washington it\u2019s still possible to work in a bipartisan way to address the problems most pressing to the American people, and I am proud to have led this effort in the United States Senate.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s rise above the politics that often drag this place down and deliver for the American people and do our jobs.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cI listened to the Democratic leader talk about this bill a few moments ago, and I implore him to stop blocking this bill.\n\n\u201cStop blocking this bill.\n\n\u201cLet it go.\n\n\u201cGive us a chance on a bipartisan basis to prove that we care about what the American people are asking us to do.\n\n\u201cLowering their prices.\n\n\u201cMaking life more affordable.\n\n\u201cIn this case, lowering their electricity prices.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cI would like for everybody in this chamber to take credit for lowering electricity prices and holding data centers accountable.\n\n\u201cBut if Democrats block this bill, they will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they do not care about affordability and that they will not do anything to take action to help.\u201d\n\n. . .\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s get this done.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s lower electricity prices.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s hold data centers accountable.\n\n\u201cAnd let\u2019s stop blocking a path to affordability.\u201d", 1, "2026-10-01T11:23:28Z", "2026-10-01T11:25:15Z"]], "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://www.husted.senate.gov/media/press-releases/democrats-block-husteds-bill-forcing-data-centers-to-pay-their-own-way/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.040825016796589, "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"}