The legislation would shield consumers from shouldering the utility costs of data centers. Senate Democrats shot it down after it received near-unanimous support in the House.
The Ratepayer Protection Act, sponsored by Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio), would protect consumers from the costs of data centers. It passed the House of Representatives nearly unanimously, but failed in the Senate this week.
The bill needed to reach 60 votes to pass in the Senate. It secured just 57. Four Democratic senators voted in favor of the legislation, including Senators Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Jon Ossoff of Georgia.
The effort has been championed by Husted as consumers grow more concerned about the costs associated with data centers. Ohio is a leading state in data center development.
The legislation would propose standards that state regulators could enforce when integrating new large-load customers with a demand of 100 megawatts or more onto the grid, according to a press release from Husted’s office.
“As our reliance on technology grows, so does the demand for data centers across the country. We 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,” Husted said in support of his legislation on the Senate floor.
On September 16, the Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House with a vote of 417 to 3. The nearly unanimously passed bill also had Democratic cosponsors.
After the bill failed in the Senate, Husted expressed his disappointment.
“The Ratepayer Protection Act was such a no brainer that some of the most conservative and most liberal representatives all agreed it was good policy. Senate Democrats are the only ones who refused to take yes for an answer,” wrote Husted in a social media post.
Husted slammed Democrats for failing to take action to help hardworking Americans during an affordability crisis.
“Chuck Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate want to stop us from getting the relief to the American ratepayer.”
He continued, “This just shows they’re not serious about the issue of affordability. We’re fighting for American consumers, and they’re blocking laws that literally could lower electric bills in this country.”
In November, Husted will be running in a special election against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown lost to Republican Senator Bernie Moreno in 2024.
Husted said that his bill “demonstrates that in Washington it’s 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.”
