After it passed the House of Representatives, Senator Jon Husted (R-OH) attempted to pass H.R. 9340, the Ratepayer Protection Act, in the Senate on Sept. 17 via unanimous consent.
But it failed on the floor after Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) objected, arguing it did not go far enough to force data centers to protect existing customers from rate increases.
Republicans had hoped to pass the bill ahead of the midterm elections. While the bill, sponsored by Reps. Gabe Evans (R-CO) and Kathy Castor (D-FL), received strong bipartisan support in the House, Democrats in both the House and Senate have highlighted that it imposes a voluntary standard and said it is only a starting point for data center policies.
