2026年10月19日 美国东部时间下午3:07 / 福克斯新闻频道
民主党人称《纳税人保护法案》是“政治伎俩”，无实际降低电价的执法条款
作者：查德·珀格拉姆 福克斯新闻
福克斯新闻首席国会通讯员查德·珀格拉姆报道参议院民主党人如何阻挠数据中心立法以及一项禁止议员进行股票交易的法案，内容载于《特别报道》栏目。
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在政坛，有时你只能尽己所能。
美国参议院全部100名经正当选举产生并宣誓就职的议员都清楚，参议院在9月底召开为期一周会议的原因。
没错，会上讨论了大学体育法案，没错，确认了劳工部长基思·松德林的提名，没错，还举行了前特别检察官杰克·史密斯的重磅听证会。
但如果你认为两党齐聚一堂是为了敲定一揽子降低美国民众生活成本的方案，那就大错特错了。
不必听信我的说法。听听参议员们怎么说。
记者手记：大学体育投票及参议院俄亥俄州对决指南
你说得没错，民主党人阻挠了两项共和党人称是选民真正想要的法案。一项是降低消费者数据中心使用成本的提案，另一项是限制议员股票交易的计划。后者甚至还包含了选民身份证要求——这对共和党及其基础选民至关重要。但共和党参议员心知肚明，民主党人绝不会接受这些提案。
这就是一场政治秀。
民主党参议员也绝不会接受共和党提出的任何立法提案。
那我们就从《纳税人保护法案》说起。
两党都清楚，选民对人工智能感到焦虑，在数据中心问题上更是彻底失去了耐心。共和党8月的一份内部备忘录显示，该党尤其担心这会影响到俄亥俄州共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特德的选情。俄亥俄州州长迈克·德温去年任命赫斯特德填补副总统JD·万斯留下的参议院席位。赫斯特德此前在俄亥俄州任职期间曾推动数据中心的发展。
因此，参议院中期选举前的最后一周充斥着政治操作。
共和党人担忧“在中期选举清算前，我们在降低物价方面毫无作为”
共和党人旨在遏制数据中心建设相关的飙升的公用事业成本。
“应该向民众保证，不会因为数据中心而让电费上涨哪怕一分钱，”密苏里州共和党参议员乔希·霍利说道，“这清晰地传递出一个信号：这些人工智能公司和数据中心不能就这样闯入当地社区，进行‘掠夺式开发’。抬高电价、将民众赶离电网、夺走他们的水资源。”
但民主党人表示，该法案并未强制要求人工智能企业遵守规定。这不过是一个建议，让数据中心建设者承担部分费用而已。
“这就是一场骗局、一出闹剧，因为它没有任何执法条款，”康涅狄格州民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔说道。
“该法案中的所有内容，州监管机构已经可以做到，或者数据中心开发商自己也能做到。法案并未对他们提出任何要求，”弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员蒂姆·凯恩辩称。
我追问凯恩“有总比没有强”的说法是否成立。
他并不同意。
“不。你不该欺骗民众。而这甚至算不上什么，”凯恩回应道，“这等于什么都没做。”
参议院少数党领袖、纽约州民主党参议员查克·舒默也附和道：“《纳税人保护法案》就是一场欺诈。它根本没有提供任何保护措施。在美国民众要求对人工智能和数据中心设置真正的监管护栏之际，共和党却拿出了一份毫无约束力的宣传法案。”
该法案充满了中期选举的政治考量。民主党人声称，共和党发起投票是为了给赫斯特德提供政治助力。
许多参议院共和党人早就准备好参议院休会，投入中期选举竞选。但他们围绕数据中心法案以及赫斯特德的选情做了两手准备。
“你能不能百分百肯定，这次投票不是为了帮助乔恩·赫斯特德在俄亥俄州的竞选？”我本人向北达科他州共和党参议员约翰·霍文问道。
“我认为这会帮到他，”霍文答道。新泽西州民主党参议员安迪·金也同意霍文的看法。
“我只想说，这显然是一场政治伎俩，”金说道，“这对美国民众毫无益处，但无疑对赫斯特德参议员有利。”
数据中心或成2026年中期选举被忽视的关键议题
赫斯特德与前俄亥俄州民主党参议员谢罗德·布朗之间的角逐是全美竞争最激烈的参议院席位之争之一。
“我想大家都心知肚明，赫斯特德参议员试图通过一项法案，这样他就能回家制作竞选广告了，”新墨西哥州民主党参议员本·雷·卢扬说道。
赫斯特德也承认了这一点。
“我们给了所有人一次应对物价上涨问题的机会，但民主党人阻挠了它。所以我们会就此展开竞选宣传，”赫斯特德说道。
所以没错，参议院的最后一周会议完全是为了中期选举。
“有哪一次选举前的9月底或10月不是全围绕政治展开的？”北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯问道。
佛蒙特州民主党参议员彼得·韦尔奇在数据中心法案上态度的转变或许就是一个例证。
9月23日，众议院以压倒性优势通过该法案后，韦奇被问及对法案的看法时投了赞成票。
“我支持这项法案，很高兴能参与投票，”韦尔奇说道。
但当该法案即将在参议院全体会议进行唱名投票时，这位佛蒙特州民主党议员却转而投了反对票。
“你为什么改变主意了？”我问韦尔奇。
“有两个原因。第一，他们不让我们提出修正案。而这项法案的问题在于它毫无约束力，”他答道。
所以问题在于，两党是更倾向于采取实际行动，还是更愿意抓住这个议题不放。事实上，可以说赫斯特德或许已经收获了一些政治资本，他将被阻挠的法案作为靶子，以此与民主党形成鲜明对比。
“这应该是参议院全体会议上无需多想就能通过的法案，”参议院多数党领袖、南达科他州共和党参议员约翰·图恩说道。
特朗普推动数据中心计划引发国会内部分歧，当地民怨沸腾：“病急乱投医”
参议院席位竞争很少会仅围绕一个单一议题，当然也很少会仅围绕一场单独的辩论或投票展开。缅因州民主党参议院候选人特洛伊·杰克逊就曾就苏珊·柯林斯2018年投票支持确认最高法院大法官布雷特·卡瓦诺一事施压这位缅因州共和党参议员。那是美国历史上分歧最严重的确认听证会之一，但柯林斯还是在2020年成功连任。那次投票已是八年前的事了。
但像选举前就数据中心法案进行的投票，可能会在选民心中埋下一颗种子。既然共和党一直在物价问题上陷入困境，而人工智能和数据中心又成为了一个议题，那么强行发起这次投票或许是共和党手头能拿出的最佳政治策略。在竞选活动中，你总会竭尽所能。
假设两周后赫斯特德以微弱劣势输给布朗，而如果赫斯特德获胜，共和党或许就能保住参议院多数席位。或许后续的出口民调会显示，选民们希望共和党在应对物价上涨方面采取更多行动。届时，党内内部人士就会指责参议院共和党领导层未能给赫斯特德提供机会为自己辩护，属于政治渎职。
这是赫斯特德能做的最大努力，也是参议院共和党人能做的最大努力。
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这或许不会奏效，但至少共和党可以辩称他们已经尽了全力。
查德·珀格拉姆目前担任福克斯新闻频道(FNC)首席国会通讯员。他于2007年9月加入该媒体，总部位于华盛顿特区。
Reporter’s Notebook: Senate sneaks in one last political play before voters have their say
October 19, 2026 3:07pm EDT / Fox News
Democrats call the Ratepayer Protection Act a ‘political ploy’ with no enforcement to actually lower electricity rates
By Chad Pergram Fox News
Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on Senate Democrats blocking data center legislation and a bill barring members from stock trading on ‘Special Report.’
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In politics, you sometimes just do what you can.
All 100 duly chosen and sworn U.S. senators understood why the Senate met for a week at the end of September.
Yes there was the college sports bill. Yes there was the confirmation of Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling. Yes there was a big hearing with former special counsel Jack Smith.
But you’d be badly mistaken if you thought both sides were really there to hammer out a package to bring down the cost of living for Americans.
Don’t take my word for it. Take the word of the senators.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: A GUIDE TO THE COLLEGE SPORTS VOTE AND SENATE’S OHIO SHOWDOWN
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Getty Images)
You are correct to say that Democrats blocked two bills that Republicans say voters really want. One was a measure to diminish the costs consumers pay for data centers and a plan to restrict stock trades by lawmakers. The latter bill even included a voter ID requirement – crucial to the GOP and its base. But Republican senators knew that Democrats wouldn’t accept these proposals.
This was about politics.
And Democratic senators wouldn’t accept any of the GOP’s legislative propositions, either.
So let’s start with the Ratepayer Protection Act.
Both sides know that voters are tripped out about AI and utterly losing it when it comes to data centers. An internal GOP memo in August revealed that the party was especially leery of what this meant for Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the Senate last year to succeed Vice President JD Vance. Husted helped foster development of data centers as an official back in the Buckeye State.
So, the final week of the Senate’s session before the midterms crawled with politics.
REPUBLICANS FEAR THEY ‘HAVEN’T DONE A DAMN THING’ TO LOWER PRICES AHEAD OF MIDTERM RECKONING
The U.S. Capitol building is seen on Aug. 7, 2026 in Washington, D.C.(Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Republicans aimed to curb skyrocketing utility costs associated with the construction of data centers.
“(People) ought to be guaranteed no electricity bills will go up by a cent because of a data center,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “It sends a clear message that these AI companies and these data centers can’t just come into local communities and strip mine out (land). Raise the electricity rates. Kick people off the grid. Take their water.”
But Democrats say the bill didn’t compel compliance by AI firms. This was just a suggestion that those who build the data centers help foot some of the bill.
“It is a sham. A charade because it has no enforcement,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
“Everything in that bill can already be done by a state regulator. Or it can already be done by a data center developer. And the bill requires nothing of them,” argued Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
I pressed Kaine on if “something was better than nothing.”
He disagreed.
“No. You shouldn’t trick people. And this is not even something,” replied Kaine. “It’s nothing,”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., piled on with, “The Ratepayer Protection Act is a fraud. It does not require any protections at all. While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill.”
The bill is laced with midterm politics. Democrats claim Republicans called the vote to throw a lifeline to Husted.
Many Senate Republicans were ready for the Senate to leave town for the midterms. But they hedged their bets around the data center bill. And, Husted.
“Can you say 110 precent this is not a vote to help Jon Husted in Ohio?” yours truly inquired of Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
“I think it will help him,” replied Hoeven. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., agreed with Hoeven.
“The one thing I’ll just say is that this is clearly a political ploy,” said Kim. “This is not something that’s good for the American people. But it’s certainly good for Sen. Husted.”
DATA CENTERS COULD BE THE SLEEPER ISSUE OF THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, spoke to Fox News Digital about Republican efforts to keep Ohio red in a challenging political landscape.(Fox News Digital/Andrew Mark Miller)
The tilt between Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is one of the nation’s most contentious Senate contests.
“I don’t think that there’s a secret that Sen. Husted is trying to pass a piece of legislation so he could go home and run a campaign ad,” said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.
Husted conceded as much.
“We gave everybody a chance to do something about affordability and the Democrats blocked it. So we’ll go campaign on it,” said Husted.
So yes. The Senate’s last week of session was about the midterms.
“Has there ever been a late September or October before an election that wasn’t all politics?” asked Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
The evolving positions on the data center bill by Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., may be an example of that.
Welch was a yea when asked about the legislation on September 23 , after it overwhelmingly cleared the House.
“I support it and I’d be glad to vote on it,” said Welch.
But the Vermont Democrat flipped to nay when the issue approached a roll call vote on the floor.
“Why did you change? I asked Welch.
“Well, two things. One, they won’t allow us to have an amendment. And the problem with this bill is that it has no teeth,” he replied.
So the question is whether the sides prefer action. Or, if they’d rather have the issue. In fact it could be argued that Husted may have scored some political capital, deploying the blocked bill as a foil in an effort to contrast himself to Democrats.
“It ought to be something that should be a no brainer here on the floor of the Senate,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
TRUMP’S DATA CENTER PUSH FRACTURES CONGRESS AS LOCAL ANGER EXPLODES: ‘GRASPING AT STRAWS’
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks at a press conference with Senate Republican leaders following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2026.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
It’s rare that competitive Senate contests pivot on a solitary issue. And certainly an individual debate or vote. Democratic Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson is pushing Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. It was one of the most factious confirmation battles in history. But Collins won reelection in 2020. That vote was eight years ago.
A vote like the one on the data center measure just before the election can plant a seed in the mind of voters. And since Republicans were struggling on affordability – and then AI and data centers emerged as an issue – forcing this vote was probably the best political play the GOP had at its disposal. In campaigns, you do all you can.
Let’s say for a moment that Husted loses narrowly to Brown in two weeks. And maybe Republicans would have held the Senate had Husted prevailed. Perhaps exit polling reveals that voters wished Republicans had done more on affordability. Party insiders would then accuse the Senate GOP brass of political malpractice by denying Husted a chance to make his case.
It was the best Husted could do. And the best Senate Republicans could do.
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It may not work. But at least Republicans can say they did what they could.
Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
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