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Home – Congressional & Capitol Hill News – Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act Bill on Data Centers Fails in Senate

Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act Bill on Data Centers Fails in Senate

The Ratepayer Protection Act, meant to protect consumers from costs of data centers, failed to reach the necessary 60 votes in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, despite near-unanimous support in the House. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who faces a special election in November.

The bill came close in a 57-43 vote, with Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Jon Ossoff, also of Georgia, voting in the bill’s favor.

While speaking on the Senate floor, Husted highlighted the technology that data centers provide and concerns about costs. “As our reliance on this technology grows, so does the demand for data centers across the country,” he said. “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’s bill had also failed on Sept. 17 when Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., objected to unanimous consent and offered his own legislation. That unanimous consent request was blocked by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, as he pointed out that the Ratepayer Protection Act had already passed the House.

On Sept. 16 Husted’s bill had passed 417-3 in the House, and enjoyed not only Democratic votes, but also Democratic co-sponsorship.

From the Senate........

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