2026年9月17日 / 美国东部时间下午2:40 / CBS新闻
华盛顿讯 周四，一名参议院民主党人挫败了共和党推动一项立法的努力，该法案旨在保护美国人免受数据中心相关能源成本的影响。尽管该法案前一天在众议院获得了广泛的两党支持。
这项名为《纳税人保护法案》的法案旨在迫使科技公司承担数据中心所需的新能源基础设施成本，而非将成本转嫁给消费者。该法案周三在众议院以417票对3票获得通过。
俄亥俄州共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特德周四试图通过一致同意程序批准该法案，这一程序赋予任何一名议员阻挠法案通过的权力。但参议院能源与自然资源委员会民主党最高议员、新墨西哥州参议员马丁·海因里希提出反对，称该法案力度不足。
“俄亥俄州的参议员和我有一个共识：人工智能数据中心可能会美国家庭带来更高成本，在很多地方已经出现了这种情况，”海因里希说。“但《纳税人保护法案》并未达到我们应对这一问题所需的标准。”
海因里希表示，“国会需要通过真正有切实约束力的立法”，并指出他已经提出了自己的法案《电网节约法案》，旨在防止美国人承担数据中心产生的电力成本。
“我的法案才是眼下降低能源价格所需的举措，”海因里希说。“我们还需要做更多工作，让数据中心从始至终切实与社区对接，我们需要保护当地资源，尤其是水资源。我们还需要通过使用清洁能源和电池储能来保护社区免受空气污染。但我们不会通过俄亥俄州参议员提出的这项法案实现这些目标。”
随后，海因里希试图通过一致同意程序通过自己的法案。但俄亥俄州另一位共和党参议员伯尼·莫雷诺提出反对，抨击海因里希阻挠了众议院通过的法案，称该法案本可以为美国人带来“即时救济”。
“‘无所作为的国会’这个说法并非空穴来风，”莫雷诺说。“我们现在确实做到了这一点。”
此次事件发生之际，随着中期选举临近，民生负担问题仍是选民最关注的议题，同时围绕数据中心和人工智能的新辩论也愈发激烈。最近几周，多名在竞争激烈选区参选的众议院共和党人联名支持该法案。而正在俄亥俄州参议院选举中与前参议员谢罗德·布朗展开角逐的赫斯特德，也在参议院牵头推动了这项法案。
赫斯特德此前曾支持数据中心，这一点在俄亥俄州参议院选举中引发了审查。他的对手一直在这一问题上抨击他，参议院共和党竞选委员会上月在一份备忘录中警告称，数据中心问题无疑是“挂在赫斯特德脖子上的锚”。
周四在寻求一致同意通过该法案时，赫斯特德表示，这代表着“国会能够采取的最有意义的两党举措，保护美国民众免受电力价格上涨的影响”。
“遗憾的是，今天我们错失了这个机会，”赫斯特德说。
凯特琳·伊莱克对本文亦有贡献。
Senate Democrat blocks House-passed bill to shield Americans from data center energy costs, proposing alternate measure
September 17, 2026 / 2:40 PM EDT / CBS News
Washington — One Senate Democrat on Thursday scuttled a Republican-led effort to pass legislation aimed at shielding Americans from energy costs attributed to data centers, despite the bill securing widespread bipartisan support in the House a day earlier.
The measure, titled the Ratepayer Protection Act, seeks to force tech companies to pay for the costs of new energy infrastructure used for data centers, rather than passing costs on to consumers. It passed the House on Wednesday in a 417 to 3 vote.
GOP Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio on Thursday sought to approve the legislation under unanimous consent, which gives any single lawmaker the power to block its passage. But Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, opposed, arguing that the measure doesn’t go far enough.
“The senator from Ohio and I agree on one thing, AI data centers can mean higher costs for American families, and in a lot of places they already do,” Heinrich said. “But the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short of what we need to do to respond.”
Heinrich said, “Congress needs to pass real legislation with real teeth,” noting that he has introduced his own bill, titled the GRID Savings Act, aimed at preventing Americans from shouldering the electricity costs from data centers.
“My bill is what is needed to start to bring down energy prices,” Heinrich said. “We also need to do more to get data centers to actually engage with communities from the beginning to the end, and we need to conserve local resources, especially water. And we need to protect communities from air pollution by using clean energy and battery storage. But we’re not going to get there with the bill that the senator from Ohio has proposed.”
Heinrich then sought unanimous consent to pass his legislation. But GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno, Ohio’s other senator, objected, lambasting Heinrich for blocking the House-passed effort that he said would have given Americans “immediate relief.”
“The term do-nothing Congress exists for a reason,” Moreno said. “We absolutely accomplished that right now.”
The developments come as affordability issues have remained top of mind for voters as the midterm elections approach, along with new debates around data centers and AI. A number of House Republicans running in tight races signed on to the bill as cosponsors in recent weeks. And Husted, who is running in a competitive race in Ohio against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, has spearheaded the effort in the Senate.
Husted has faced scrutiny for his previous support for data centers, a key issue in the Ohio Senate race. His opponent has hammered him on the issue, and the Senate GOP campaign arm warned in a memo last month that more than anything else, the data center issue is the “anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”
When he sought unanimous consent to pass the measure Thursday, Husted said it represents “the most meaningful, bipartisan step Congress could take to protect the American people from higher prices for electricity.”
“It is a shame that this opportunity has been missed today,” Husted said.
Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.
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