According to a new report from D.C. publication The Hill, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is moving to kill a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) that would stop Big Tech from sticking families with the power bill for new data centers.
One week after it sailed through the House 417-3 with widespread bipartisan support, Schumer is now branding the measure “a fraud.”
Tuberville joined U.S. Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) in cosponsoring the Senate version of the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would put the cost of new power plants and transmission lines on the companies building the data centers rather than the households already on the grid.
“Data centers can be game changers for communities all across my state of Alabama,” Tuberville said. “I understand why many Alabamians have concerns about these facilities coming to their neighborhoods and increasing energy costs.”
“That’s why I cosponsored the Ratepayer Protection Act to make sure Alabamians aren’t left footing the bill for any new data centers.”
The bill directs states and public utility commissions to consider standards making any customer that pulls at least 100 megawatts pay for the generation, transmission and distribution built to serve it.
It codifies pieces of President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI signed in March.
The House passed it Sept. 16 by a 417-3 vote, with nearly every Democrat in the chamber voting yes.
Husted then tried to pass the House bill by unanimous consent, a fast track that works unless a single senator objects. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, objected, arguing the bill only makes states consider the protections rather than impose them, and pushed his GRID Savings Act instead.
Schumer piled on Wednesday, calling the bill a “fraud” and signaling he will whip Senate Democrats to block it when it hits the floor.
“Sen. Husted’s bill is a fraud, it’s voluntary, no company has to do it. The bill we have is mandatory,” Schumer said.
Senate Democrats told The Hill they view the bill as a “political life raft” for Husted, who is trailing former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. Schumer’s second-in-command, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), has not taken a position on the bill.
Husted fired back on Fox News Radio on Friday.
“Nothing passes 417 to 3,” Husted said.
“The fraud here is what Chuck Schumer is trying to perpetuate on the American people: that they actually care about affordability,” Husted said.
Senate Republican leaders plan to force a recorded vote as soon as this week, putting every Senate Democrat on the record.
“We are going to continue holding big tech accountable to make sure that if they want to build a data center in Alabama, they do it the right way,” Tuberville said.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].