US House Schedules September 15 Vote on AI Data Center Power Cost Bill

The bipartisan bill, called the Ratepayer Protection Act, would establish a set of standards for state regulators to adopt voluntarily, requiring artificial intelligence data centers with power demand of 100 megawatts or more to bear the cost of new power generation, transmission lines, and other infrastructure themselves, rather than shifting those costs onto ordinary ratepayers. The bill was introduced in June by Republican Representative Gabe Evans of Colorado and Democratic Representative Kathy Castor of Florida.

Lawmakers from both parties want to show voters they have taken action on the data center issue before returning to their districts to campaign. The House plans to begin a seven-week recess on Thursday, running until the November 3 election.

Data centers have become a major issue in the 2026 election, as Republicans try to hold their narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Bipartisan grassroots opposition to such facilities has emerged in many parts of the country, pushing elected officials to support stricter regulation. The bill would also write parts of the White House's "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," issued in March 2026, into law.

Some groups argue the bill is not strong enough. Mitch Jones, policy and litigation managing director at Food & Water Watch, said the legislation would instead accelerate the construction of new data centers and provide companies with a hard-to-verify way to claim they are covering their own power costs. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he supports the bill while believing more measures are needed, and called on Republicans to keep the House in session after Thursday to address broader artificial intelligence issues.

In other legislative developments, a former Anthropic employee resigned from the company last week and drew attention with a social media post warning about the pace of AI development. Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said he plans to introduce an AI "kill switch" bill requiring companies to build mechanisms that can shut down runaway technology. House Speaker Johnson said the responsibility for ensuring product safety lies with technology companies rather than Congress. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said the private sector is fully capable of addressing the risks posed by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence.