U.S. Rep André Carson joined progressives U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on June 24 to introduce legislation to pause data center development as pushback against the energy intensive facilities rise.
The legislation would put a moratorium on data centers until there are guarantees that artificial intelligence is safe, will benefit workers and will not increase utility bills or harm the environment. It also comes as at least five Indiana counties have passed data center moratoriums on a local level.
“Data centers cannot come at a cost to American families, who are already facing high grocery, gas, and housing costs,” Carson said in a news release. “Data centers have the potential to create good union jobs, but they also have the potential to eliminate jobs. We need to make sure workers, families, and neighborhoods aren’t forced to pay the burden of this rapidly rising technology without guardrails.”
Though the bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Congress, Carson’s involvement indicates that the congressman, along with other politically savvy Democrats, is taking note of the momentum around data centers and AI. The issue has already played a major role in some local elections across the country and will likely only grow in prominence. As the previously uncontroversial developments become bigger and more resource intensive, the debates around them are now mired in broader concerns about local control, land-use and distrust of the billionaire tech firms behind the AI boom.
The conversation has been heated in Indianapolis, too, which has fielded several data center proposals across the city. In April, Carson’s primary opponents attempted to use local outrage to criticize his relative silence on the proposals, though Carson told Politico at the time that he supported a federal moratorium.
Though Carson’s bill was officially introduced on June 24, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders announced the bill in March.
Carson also introduced the AI Data Center Site Selection Transparency Act, which aims to ensure that communities are informed of data center development plans before they are set in stone, with two other representatives in April.
Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@indystar.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: U.S. Rep André Carson joins Bernie Sanders, AOC on data center moratorium bill
Reporting by Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
