Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced legislation Wednesday that would pause all new data centre construction nationwide until AI safeguards are in place. Under the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, the ban on new construction could only be lifted after the passage of federal AI legislation that would establish protections for workers and consumers, prevent harm to the environment and defend civil rights.
The move represents one of the most direct challenges to the AI industry's infrastructure expansion. Sanders and AOC are staking out one of the most aggressive AI policy positions yet this Congress, colliding with the industry's rapid expansion. Sanders is calling for an immediate federal moratorium on AI data centres until national safeguards are in place to ensure that AI is safe and effective and won't harm "health, privacy, civil rights and the future of humanity."
"Congress is way behind where it should be in understanding the nature of this revolution and its impacts," Sanders says in a statement. The underlying concern centres on the speed at which companies are building out infrastructure to support artificial intelligence systems. Tech giants from Microsoft to Google are investing billions of dollars into data centre projects, while communities nationwide have voiced concerns about the infrastructure's impacts on consumer energy costs and water supply, along with broader effects on the environment and local economies.
The electricity demand problem is quantifiable. Data centres are estimated to account for 44% of new U.S. electricity demand by 2028, and by 2030, electric bills are on track to rise an average of 8% nationwide to cover the costs of expanding the grid. Meta is building a data centre in Louisiana the size of Manhattan that will use as much electricity as 1.6 million homes, according to Sanders's remarks.
The practical challenge to this legislation is substantial. Data centre projects could be potentially on hold for years under the Sanders-AOC bill, as Congress is far from passing any AI legislation, let alone anything the two Democrats would consider "strong." Politicians on both sides of the aisle will say they want to protect workers and families, but sharp disagreements on how to do that persist within and across both parties, with those disagreements coming into clear view now the White House has handed over its own vision for AI regulation to Congress.
The Sanders-Ocasio-Cortez proposal arrives amid signs that data centre regulation is becoming a cross-party concern. Officials in Minnesota, New York State, Virginia, New Hampshire, Vermont, Oklahoma, Maryland, Georgia, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Michigan have all called for state-wide bans on new developments. Many counties, townships, and cities across the country have also looked to introduce their own moratoria on new developments.
Ocasio-Cortez has previously secured commitments on related energy concerns. The FY 26 Energy and Water Appropriations Act includes her request to study the impact rapidly expanding AI data centres would have on utility bills for consumers, with findings expected to inform future policy decisions.
For Australian technology investors and energy sector participants, the US regulatory approach matters. The moratorium, if it gains traction, would reshape where global AI companies locate infrastructure expansion, potentially redirecting investment toward jurisdictions with clearer regulatory frameworks. Australia's own stance on data centre development and renewable energy policy may influence whether the country becomes more or less attractive to these multi-billion-dollar infrastructure decisions. The outcome in Congress will signal whether democracies can effectively regulate emerging technology infrastructure, or whether industry momentum will overcome legislative attempts to slow deployment.