Democrats block data centers bill, derailing Senate GOP bid to act on affordability ahead of midterms

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Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a GOP-led bill to combat rising energy costs driven by the data center boom, thwarting a last-ditch effort by Republicans to show they are taking voter concerns about affordability seriously.

Even though the bill only recommends states take action and does not mandate lower prices for consumers, the bill’s failure deprives Republicans of an opportunity to counter attacks that they haven’t done enough to tackle high prices ahead of the midterms. It deals a setback to one vulnerable Republican senator in particular: Ohio’s Jon Husted, who led the charge for passage of the bill after being hammered on the issue in his race, one of the most competitive Senate battlegrounds.

Now, senators are expected to soon leave Washington and not return until after the midterms as a number of Senate Republicans have expressed concern that their party has not done enough to address the high cost of living in the run-up to a critical election where control of Congress is at stake.

The vote also opens Democrats up to criticism for blocking the bill, which passed the House earlier this month with widespread bipartisan support.

The measure — known as the “Ratepayer Protection Act” — was blocked on a 57 to 43 vote with only four Democrats voting with Republicans.

Senate Democrats said ahead of the vote that they opposed the bill because it did not go far enough. The bill requires state regulators to “consider” adopting a proposed federal standard that would require data center companies to cover their costs to the energy grid, rather than passing it off to consumers. Democrats said the language was weak and lacked enforcement mechanisms.

“Here we need some real action on data centers and what does the Republican senator from Ohio come up with? Something that is optional,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor Tuesday, as Democrats vowed to seek passage of more robust measures.

The vote, in the Senate’s final days in Washington before the midterms, highlights the fight between both parties as they scramble to show voters they’re better equipped to tackle the high cost of living. It also comes as the expansion of data centers powered by AI has sparked concern among Americans.

Republicans criticized Democrats ahead of the vote for their opposition, saying this was the best chance to take action on the issue.

“This is the bill that gives us a chance to prove to the American people that we’re for lower electricity prices and holding data centers accountable. So the only way that this happen is if this bill passes,” Husted said. “This bill is the only game in town.”

But Democrats brushed off concerns the optics of their opposition could backfire.

“If ratepayers read this (bill) and see that it’s a name that says ratepayer protection and provides no relief in rates, they’ll rightly be angry. They can see something that’s not on the level,” said Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont. “You know, I think voters see this for what it is: as kind of a political maneuver at the 11th hour.”

Husted had taken on the mission of passing the bill amid a critical and highly competitive Senate race as Republicans fight to retain their Senate majority.

Data centers have become a flashpoint in his race against Democrat and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, as communities in the Buckeye state have experienced firsthand the rapid development of AI processing facilities. In his role as lieutenant governor and as a senator, Husted has applauded the economic boom that the centers can bring but has also pushed to approve the “Ratepayer Protection Act” as a way to attempt to neutralize potential backlash.

It was Husted who pushed party leaders to return to Washington this week to vote on the bill after leaders had weighed an early exit ahead of the midterms. Multiple sources told CNN that Husted implored his colleagues not to head home early without at least attempting the vote to send a message that Republicans were doing something on the issue of affordability.

Back in Ohio, Brown has cut several ads attacking Husted on the centers. And in August, Senate Republicans’ campaign committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, sent an internal memo warning “more than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”

“This has become a sleeper issue for the entire cycle,” the NRSC wrote.

Husted’s campaign spokesperson Amy Natoce accused Democrats of playing politics by blocking the bill.

“The House overwhelmingly passed Sen. Husted’s bipartisan legislation requiring data center companies to pay for the power they use, but Senate Democrats blocked it. Sherrod Brown and his friends would rather play politics and stick Ohio families with higher electric bills than pass a commonsense solution,” she said.

In a statement, Lauren Chou, a Brown campaign spokesperson, said, “Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio, forcing Ohioans to pay thousands more in higher electric bills and giving giant out-of-state corporations billions of dollars in out-of-control tax breaks.”

“Ohioans should get to decide if data centers are built in their communities and should never be forced to subsidize the electricity costs of big corporations,” Chou said.

Still, in the Senate’s last days of work, some Republicans have suggested that the party could be doing more to tackle affordability.

“My view is that people would love some relief in the price of their gas. They would love some relief in the price of their health care. They would love some rights vis a vis these data centers. If it were me, I’d make those thing priorities,” Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said.

Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, bemoaned that the party is facing economic headwinds amid the fight to keep the House and Senate in the midterms.

“I mean you don’t have to be a senior at Cal Tech to understand that people are angry about the cost of living, and they’re confused about Iran and the two are inextricably linked,” Kennedy said last week.

安娜·莫尼梅克/盖蒂图片社

周三，参议院民主党人阻止了一项由共和党主导的旨在应对数据中心蓬勃发展带来的能源成本上涨的法案，挫败了共和党人为表明他们认真对待选民对能源负担能力的担忧而做出的最后努力。

尽管该法案仅建议各州采取行动，并未强制要求降低消费者价格，但其失败使共和党人失去了在期中选举前反击其在应对高物价问题上行动迟缓的攻击的机会。这对一位处境岌岌可危的共和党参议员来说尤其是一个打击：俄亥俄州的乔恩·赫斯特德，他在竞选期间因物价问题饱受抨击，而俄亥俄州是竞争最激烈的参议院席位争夺战之一，因此他曾带头推动该法案的通过。

现在，由于一些共和党参议员表示担忧，认为他们的党派在即将到来的关键选举（国会控制权岌岌可危）前，没有采取足够措施来解决生活成本高昂的问题，预计参议员们将很快离开华盛顿，直到中期选举之后才会返回。

此次投票也使民主党人因阻挠该法案而受到批评，该法案本月早些时候在众议院获得了广泛的两党支持。

这项名为“纳税人保护法案”的措施以 57 比 43 的投票结果被否决，只有四名民主党人与共和党人一起投了赞成票。

参议院民主党人在投票前表示，他们反对这项法案，因为该法案力度不够。该法案要求各州监管机构“考虑”采纳一项联邦标准提案，该提案要求数据中心公司承担其对电网的成本，而不是将其转嫁给消费者。民主党人表示，该法案措辞软弱，缺乏执行机制。

“我们需要在数据中心问题上采取一些真正的行动，而来自俄亥俄州的共和党参议员提出了什么？一个可有可无的方案，”参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默周二在参议院发言时说道，与此同时，民主党人誓言要寻求通过更强有力的措施。

此次投票正值参议院在华盛顿召开会议的最后几天，距离中期选举仅剩几天时间，凸显了两党之间的激烈斗争，他们都在竭力向选民证明自己更有能力应对高昂的生活成本。与此同时，人工智能驱动的数据中心扩张也引发了美国民众的担忧。

共和党人在投票前批评民主党人的反对立场，称这是就此问题采取行动的最佳机会。

“这项法案给了我们一个机会，向美国人民证明我们支持降低电价，并追究数据中心的责任。而这一切的实现，只有这项法案获得通过，”赫斯特德说。“这项法案是唯一的出路。”

但民主党人对反对立场可能适得其反的担忧不以为然。

“如果纳税人读到这份法案，发现它虽然名为‘纳税人保护’，却没有提供任何费率减免，他们肯定会感到愤怒。他们能看出其中的猫腻，”佛蒙特州参议员彼得·韦尔奇说道。“我认为选民们都看穿了这背后的本质：这不过是最后一刻的政治伎俩。”

在共和党人为保住参议院多数席位而展开的激烈参议院选举中，赫斯特肩负起了推动该法案通过的重任。

在俄亥俄州，数据中心已成为他与民主党候选人、前参议员谢罗德·布朗竞选中的一个焦点议题，因为俄亥俄州的各个社区都亲身经历了人工智能处理设施的快速发展。作为副州长和参议员，哈斯特德对数据中心带来的经济繁荣表示赞赏，但同时也力推通过《纳税人保护法案》，试图消除潜在的负面影响。

正是哈斯特德敦促党内领导人本周返回华盛顿，就该法案进行投票。此前，领导层曾考虑在期中选举前提前离开。多位消息人士告诉CNN，哈斯特德恳求他的同事们不要在至少尝试投票之前就提前回家，以此表明共和党正在努力解决住房负担能力问题。

回到俄亥俄州后，布朗制作了多则广告，攻击哈斯特在数据中心问题上的立场。8月份，参议院共和党竞选委员会——全国共和党参议员委员会——发出内部备忘录，警告说“在这场竞选中，数据中心问题比任何其他因素都更能拖垮哈斯特。”

“这已经成为整个选举周期中一个潜在的问题，”全国共和党参议员委员会写道。

哈斯特德的竞选发言人艾米·纳托斯指责民主党人阻挠该法案是出于政治目的。

“众议院以压倒性多数通过了参议员赫斯特提出的两党法案，该法案要求数据中心公司为其使用的电力付费，但参议院民主党人却阻挠了该法案的通过。谢罗德·布朗和他的同伙宁愿玩弄政治，让俄亥俄州的家庭承担更高的电费，也不愿通过一项合乎常理的解决方案，”她说道。

布朗竞选发言人劳伦·周在一份声明中表示：“乔恩·赫斯特德带头将数据中心引入俄亥俄州，迫使俄亥俄州居民支付数千美元的更高电费，并给予外州巨型企业数十亿美元的失控税收减免。”

周表示：“俄亥俄州居民应该有权决定是否在他们的社区建设数据中心，而且绝不应该被迫补贴大公司的电力成本。”

不过，在参议院最后几天的工作中，一些共和党人表示，该党本可以采取更多措施来解决住房负担能力问题。

“我认为人们会希望汽油价格有所下降，医疗保健费用有所下降，对数据中心拥有一些权利。如果是我，我会把这些事情列为优先事项，”密苏里州共和党参议员乔什·霍利说道。

来自路易斯安那州的共和党参议员约翰·肯尼迪感叹，在中期选举中，共和党正面临着保住众议院和参议院控制权的挑战，同时还面临着经济方面的逆风。

肯尼迪上周说：“我的意思是，你不需要是加州理工大学的高年级学生也能明白，人们对生活成本感到愤怒，他们对伊朗感到困惑，而这两者是密不可分的。”