A bill meant to regulate data centers and their impact on electricity bills passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has run into a roadblock in the Senate, with leading Democrats calling the bill “toothless” and “optional.”

The House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act 417-3, which is one of the first actions Congress has taken on the issue, with co-sponsors of the bill saying that the costs to power data centers should not be passed onto ordinary electric customers.

The bill would recommend to consider — although crucially, not require they enact — a federal level regulation requiring data center developers to provide their own electricity for their projects, covering the cost of transmission or generation upgrades.

In a 57-43 vote, all but four Democrats voted against moving the bill forward. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, according to CBS News, that the bill lacks impact in its current form.

"While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill," Schumer said. "We need real action on data centers, and what do Republicans decide all of a sudden to push forward? A bill that is totally optional."

Schumer went on to say that Democrats want any regulations on data centers to be mandatory.

Data centers have become a hot-button issue in many congressional and gubernatorial races across the country, with both Democrats and Republicans cooling on data centers — including some who initially supported them.

For a more detailed breakdown of what states are doing to regulate data centers, see some of T&D World’s previous coverage on the issue.