Washington, D.C. – In a letter sent to the House Energy and Commerce Committee last night, more than 200 advocacy organizations from across the country called on Congress to reject a package of bills that would fast-track the financing, permitting and construction of new hyperscale AI data centers across the country. The legislative package would speed construction of data centers, prioritize connection to the existing electric grid, and provide questionable means for companies to claim they are paying for their own power. All or some of this legislative package may be voted on in the Energy and Commerce Committee as soon as this afternoon.

The letter was facilitated by the environmental organization Food & Water Watch, and signed by groups including Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Center for Biological Diversity Third Act and Our Revolution.

The letter states, in part: 

Taken together, these bills create a policy framework centered on facilitating the expansion of large electricity projects needed to accommodate large scale data centers, while neglecting to address the broader costs and cumulative impacts of data center growth on communities… Congress should not be advancing policies that make it easier to accommodate growth in data center demand, while leaving the public and ratepayers exposed to the significant harms and costs of mega data center development.

Bills being considered are: the “Ratepayer Protection Act” (H.R.9340), the “Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act” (H.R. 6529), the “Load Forecasting Enhancement Act” (H.R. 9332), the “Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act” (H.R. 9339), the “Advanced Transmission Technology to Reduce Rates Act” (H.R. 9335), Expanding Generator Interconnection Procedures Act of 2025, and the “High-Capacity Grid Act” (H.R. 6633)

“The ‘Ratepayer Protection Act’ is the greatest use of a sly misnomer since the Vikings named Greenland. This legislation is an egregious handout to Big Tech that would do nothing to protect people and communities from the skyrocketing electricity rates, alarming water consumption and fossil fuel pollution that hyperscale data centers bring wherever they land,” said Food & Water Watch’s Managing Director of Policy and Litigation Mitch Jones. “Big Tech will stop at nothing to force its vision down our throats. Our representatives must have the courage to stand in its way. Congress should reject this absurdly-named false solution to our data center crisis out of hand.”

Earlier this month, more than 520 organizations from 48 states called for the enactment of a full nationwide moratorium on the approval and construction of new hyperscale data centers. Additionally, a new national coalition launched this month with the aim of supporting the grassroots drive for a halt to AI- and crypto-driven data center buildout at the local, state and federal levels. The coalition will work to share resources and opportunities for action against new data center construction, including leveraging resources and membership from national groups for state and local campaigns across the country.