{"id":2669238,"date":"2026-09-24T14:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-dems-voted-to-shutdown-law-curbing-rising-electricity-costs-caused-by-data-centers-it-passed-anyway\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:47:25","slug":"three-dems-voted-to-shutdown-law-curbing-rising-electricity-costs-caused-by-data-centers-it-passed-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-dems-voted-to-shutdown-law-curbing-rising-electricity-costs-caused-by-data-centers-it-passed-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Dems Voted to Shutdown Law Curbing Rising Electricity Costs Caused By Data Centers &#8211; It Passed Anyway"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthree-dems-voted-to-shutdown-law-curbing-rising-electricity-costs-caused-by-data-centers-it-passed-anyway%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2669238&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The House passed legislation on September 15 aimed at addressing rising electricity costs driven by data center expansion, just ahead of the midterm elections.The bill, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act, received overwhelming support with a 417-3 vote, mainly opposed by a few Democrats. It mandates that states consider establishing federal standards to ensure data centers help cover grid upgrade costs and rising energy expenses, as some areas experienced power capacity increases of over 1,000 percent due to data center activity. U.S. electricity prices have increased approximately 27 percent since 2019, impacting high-concentration states more considerably. While construction of data centers has surged by 57 percent,lawmakers remain cautious about the legislation&#8217;s political implications. The bill&#8217;s sponsors, including Republican and Democratic representatives, highlight the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kemp-warns-lance-bottomss-anti-data-center-plan-is-dangerous-for-georgia\/\" title=\"Kemp warns Lance Bottoms&#039;s anti-... center plan is dangerous for Georgia\">economic benefits data centers bring<\/a>, such as community investments and tax revenues. Though, concerns about environmental impacts and energy consumption persist. The legislation is currently in the Senate and has gained bipartisan support in the house committees. Increasing natural gas use for data center energy also projects significant growth through 2035.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The House passed legislation Sept. 15 aimed at fighting rising electricity costs caused by data centers as the midterm elections loom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The bill passed 417-3 with all <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nicholaswu12\/status\/2100357655034245341?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opposing votes <\/a>coming from Democrats: Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/9340\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ratepayer Protection Act<\/a> intends to require states to consider implementing a federal standard to ensure data centers cover the costs of grid upgrades and rising electricity costs. Lawmakers faced pressure to lower energy costs as data centers drove up the costs, with some high concentration areas seeing power capacity spike over 1,000 percent, Reuters <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/big-tech-data-centers-are-driving-up-power-bills-americas-rust-belt-factories-2026-07-07\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Overall U.S. electricity prices have <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eesi.org\/articles\/view\/data-center-power-demands-are-contributing-to-higher-energy-bills\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">risen<\/a> roughly 27 percent since 2019, outpacing standard consumer inflation. Electric bills in high concentration states surged faster than the 6 percent national average, rising 13 percent in Virginia, 16 percent in Illinois and 12 percent in Ohio over a one-year time frame, <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/11\/14\/data-centers-are-concentrated-in-these-states-heres-whats-happening-to-electricity-prices-.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to CNBC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The cost of living remains the top issue for voters in the 2026 midterm election cycle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Data center construction rose by 57 percent from July 2025 to July while energy costs rise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">House leadership was hesitant to vote on the legislation before the midterms, given that data centers are a politically polarizing issue. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise argued that increased tax revenue from Meta\u2019s $50 billion data center in Louisiana led every teacher in Richland Parish to receive a $50,000 bonus, <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/08\/26\/data-centers-republicans-affordability-midterms-01052001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to Politico.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cThere are tremendous benefits for communities who embrace data centers \u2026 They\u2019re good customers, they\u2019re good neighbors and studies prove that they don\u2019t add to the cost of the grid,\u201d\u00a0Scalise\u00a0said. \u201cThey\u2019re paying their own way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Republican Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans and Democratic Florida Rep. Kathy Castor were the lead sponsors of the bill. The legislation included dozens of co-sponsors, including 35 Republicans and 7 Democrats, <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/9340\/all-info\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to Congress.gov.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the legislation an \u201cappropriate step forward\u201d during a Monday press conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted sponsored the legislation in the Senate, where it has yet to pass.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The bipartisan legislation advanced unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m encouraged by the momentum behind the Ratepayer Protection Act, and I\u2019m hopeful we\u2019ll see it come to the floor when Congress returns in September,\u201d Evans told Politico in August.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Natural gas consumption used to generate electricity for U.S. data centers is projected to increase by 15 billion cubic feet per day through 2035, putting U.S. data centers on track to consume more natural gas than nearly every other country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">A New Jersey data center spilled an estimated 5,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel into a nearby creek Friday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. 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( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The House approved legislation on September 15 to address rising electricity costs driven by data centers ahead of midterms. The bill passed 417-3, with Democrats Rashida Tlaib, Delia Ramirez, and Summer Lee voting against. The Ratepayer Protection Act aims to mandate states consider a federal standard ensuring data centers cover grid upgrade costs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2669239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_3446.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4486,4762,5894],"class_list":["post-2669238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-energy","tag-legislation","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_3446.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2669238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2669242,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669238\/revisions\/2669242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2669239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2669238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2669238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2669238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}