Dems kill Republican's chances of lowering Americans' electricity bills in key election flashpoint
Democrats blocked a push to tackle one of the key issues driving this midterm election cycle, and may have given a vulnerable Republican a political lifeline in the process.Republicans’ effort...
By Fox News · Fox News
Democrats blocked a push to tackle one of the key issues driving this midterm election cycle, and may have given a vulnerable Republican a political lifeline in the process. Republicans’ effort to crack down on rising electricity costs caused by the boom in data centers across the country was stifled on Wednesday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats, despite cruising through the House in a massive bipartisan vote. Schumer’s blockade, however, wasn't unanimous among Democrats, with four — Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. — breaking ranks to support the bill. The Ratepayer Protection Act, would have created a standard for AI companies and the data centers they run to bear the brunt of electricity costs — an issue that has become a predominant concern for voters this midterm cycle. FIRST DATA CENTER BILL CLEARS HOUSE AS BOTH PARTIES SCRAMBLE FOR ANSWERS ON AFFORDABILITY But Democrats argued it was a toothless effort that lacked any real enforcement mechanism, and merely a political ploy to give vulnerable Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, a boost. "The Ratepayer Protection Act is a fraud. It does not require any protections at all," Schumer said. "While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill." "We need real action on data centers. And what do Republicans decide all of a sudden to push force forward a bill that is totally optional?" While the U.S. continues its arms race with China for AI dominance, voters want to see tech companies cool their jets and slow the rapid construction of data centers. A Fox News poll from July found that 70% of voters, both Republicans and Democrats, opposed the construction of new data centers. SCHUMER PREACHES AFFORDABILITY IN DEM MIDTERM PITCH WHILE SABOTAGING GOP FIXES FOR SOARING COSTS Republicans, including Husted, hoped that voter concerns could persuade Democrats to break fro…