Congressional candidate Bob Harvie calls for data center moratorium in Pennsylvania's Bucks County
Democrat Bob Harvie, a congressional candidate for Pennsylvania's 1st District, has unveiled a new TV ad proposing a moratorium on AI data center development, signifying a shift in his political stance. This move makes data center growth a central issue in his campaign against U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County. The ad highlights concerns about big tech's impact on local resources like land, water, and electricity.
In a significant policy shift, Democratic congressional candidate Bob Harvie released his inaugural general election TV ad, advocating for a moratorium on artificial intelligence data center development in Pennsylvania's Bucks County. Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner, directly challenged U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick's (R., Bucks) position on the issue, making data center development a key battleground in their contentious race for the 1st Congressional District. Previously, Harvie had only called for strict regulations, but his new ad states, "I don’t want any more data centers. I want a moratorium."
The ad, which flashes images of tech leaders like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, alleges that "Big tech is taking over our lives" and is "Grabbing our land, water, electricity, and sticking us with the bill." Harvie also criticized Fitzpatrick's past support for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which contained a provision to ban state or local regulation of AI systems. Fitzpatrick's campaign, led by spokesperson Heather Roberts, countered by highlighting his support for "uniform federal regulations" and "100% control by local residents," and his co-sponsorship of the Ratepayer Protection Act and Data Center Transparency Act. Roberts accused Harvie of creating the problem, referencing his 2020 vote to approve a county tax break for NorthPoint Development, the owner of the Falls Township site where an Amazon data center is now nearing completion.
Both candidates had previously supported Governor Josh Shapiro’s executive order to increase restrictions on data center development, which followed a shift in the Governor's stance. Harvie clarified that his decision for a moratorium stemmed from ongoing conversations and what he perceives as a "complete failure of leadership" by Republicans on the issue. He emphasized the need to "slow down this genie getting out of the bottle" given the rapid, unregulated data center expansion nationwide, despite his prior belief that some areas could accommodate them.