A bipartisan bill meant to stop data centers from quietly driving up everyone else's electric bill cleared the House this week in a lopsided 417-3 vote. It died in the Senate anyway — blocked by a single senator from the president's own side of the aisle, who argued it didn't go far enough.

New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich objected when Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted tried to fast-track the bill, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act, to passage by unanimous consent. The measure would have encouraged — but not required — states to make data centers and the tech companies that run them pay for the new power infrastructure their facilities demand, rather than spreading those costs across ordinary households.

Husted framed the bill as an urgent fix for a looming infrastructure crunch. "America is expected to build the equivalent of 1,000 major data centers during the next five years," he said ahead of the vote, "and we need to protect American ratepayers from footing the bill."

"IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT." — SEN. MARTIN HEINRICH

Heinrich didn't dispute the problem — he disputed the fix. He argued the bill's voluntary framework let both states and tech companies off the hook. "I don't think it's enough to just take their word for it," he said on the floor. "It's not enough for us to tell states to consider making data centers pay for grid updates. Rather than voluntary pledges or suggestions to states, Congress needs to pass real legislation with real teeth."

A Counter-Offer Gets Blocked Too

Heinrich then tried to force a vote on his own alternative, the GRID Savings Act, which would require — not merely suggest — that large power users like data centers pay for the grid connections they need. That effort was blocked in turn by Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, leaving both bills stalled and ratepayers no closer to relief.

The standoff lands as electricity bills have become an increasingly sore subject nationwide, with AI-driven data center construction identified by utilities and regulators alike as a major driver of new demand on an aging grid. Lawmakers in both parties have been fielding complaints from constituents watching their utility bills climb even as tech companies post record profits from the same AI boom straining the grid.

Neither bill is dead for good — unanimous consent objections can be revisited, and both the House's near-unanimous vote and the public frustration over rising bills give supporters of some version of the policy reason to try again. For now, though, the Senate's inaction means the question of who pays for AI's power appetite remains unresolved, even as construction on new data centers continues nationwide.