Senate Democrat blocks House-passed bill to shield Americans from data center energy costs, proposing alternate measure

September 17, 2026 / 2:40 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — One Senate Democrat on Thursday scuttled a Republican-led effort to pass legislation aimed at shielding Americans from energy costs attributed to data centers, despite the bill securing widespread bipartisan support in the House a day earlier.

The measure, titled the Ratepayer Protection Act, seeks to force tech companies to pay for the costs of new energy infrastructure used for data centers, rather than passing costs on to consumers. It passed the House on Wednesday in a 417 to 3 vote.

GOP Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio on Thursday sought to approve the legislation under unanimous consent, which gives any single lawmaker the power to block its passage. But Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, opposed, arguing that the measure doesn't go far enough.

"The senator from Ohio and I agree on one thing, AI data centers can mean higher costs for American families, and in a lot of places they already do," Heinrich said. "But the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short of what we need to do to respond."

Heinrich said, "Congress needs to pass real legislation…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/