Democrats divided as Senate heads for AI data-center showdown

The US Senate is grappling with a contentious bill, the Ratepayer Protection Act, introduced by Republican Sen. Jon Husted (Ohio), which seeks to mitigate additional costs to taxpayers from AI-driven data centers. While the bill passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support (417-3), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is actively trying to kill it, despite some division within his own caucus.

The legislative showdown carries significant weight for the Ohio Senate race, where Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown (Ohio) has criticized Husted's stance on data centers and their associated tax deals. A recent YouGov poll indicated that 75 percent of Ohio voters opposed or strongly opposed local data center construction, with nearly half viewing a candidate's position on the issue as crucial for their November vote.

Senators like Tina Smith (Minn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Chris Van Hollen (Md.) expressed concerns that Husted's bill, which relies on a voluntary framework, doesn't go far enough to make data centers pay their full energy costs or address grid strain. Van Hollen has his own proposal, the Power for the People Act, which would mandate states to consider separate electricity rate classes for data centers and require FERC to ensure data centers pay for necessary transmission upgrades. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has also called for a federal moratorium on building AI data centers.

Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), are pushing for a vote, arguing Democrats will be politically vulnerable if they block a bill that received broad House support. Husted's spokesperson, Olivia Tripodi, asserts the bill would compel data centers to