Bernie Sanders and AOC introduce bill to pause building of new datacenters | US news

Amid an unprecedented energy crisis and the rapid development of AI infrastructure, progressive lawmakers have announced a new policy imposing a moratorium on the construction of AI data centers.

“Despite the extraordinary importance of this issue and its impact on every man, woman and child in this country, artificial intelligence has received very little serious discussion here in our nation’s capital,” Sanders told reporters on Wednesday. “I fear that Congress is completely unprepared for the magnitude of the changes currently taking place.”

The policy, announced Wednesday morning by independent senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, aims to ensure that the artificial intelligence boom protects the environment and communities and benefits workers rather than harms them. Lawmakers say a temporary ban would give the U.S. government time to create strong federal protections against artificial intelligence, which “affects everything from our economy to our well-being, from our democracy to war and our children’s education.”

“Artificial intelligence and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in human history,” Sanders said in an emailed statement. “The scale, scope and speed of this change is unprecedented.”

Moratorium Proposed in Sanders’ Senate bill If it becomes law, it will come into force immediately and will remain in effect until laws that will eliminate the harmful effects of data centers are enacted. This includes tamping down on climate and environmental impacts, ensuring they do not increase utility costs, preventing job displacement and “securing the wealth people create.” [AI] “Companies are shared with the American people.”

It will also ban the export of computing hardware, such as AI chips or custom processors, to any country that does not have such protections on the books, including China.

Ocasio-Cortez will submit a companion bill to the House.

The proposal comes as calls to halt AI data center expansion are shifting from the fringes to the mainstream. Since August 2025, towns and districts across the country Missouri, Indiana, Georgia And North Carolina – passed temporary bans on building data centres. At least 11 states They are currently considering similar policies according to Good Deeds FirstA watchdog group that monitors economic development.

In December, more than 200 advocacy groups, led by the national environmental organization Food and Water Watch, also sent a letter to House and Senate leaders demanding a federal data center moratorium, citing concerns about the industry’s impact on utility bills and the climate crisis. It was Sanders the first member of parliament to support their demands and since then gained strength With progressive lawmakers like Florida representative Maxwell Frost and Washington representative Pramila Jayapal.

“When I proposed a moratorium on AI data centers a few months ago, it was perceived as a radical, extreme, Luddite idea,” Sanders said. He wrote in a statement in February. “Well, not anymore.”

Survey data shows that Americans are increasingly concerned about the many impacts of artificial intelligence. A. June 2025 survey Half of US adults report being more concerned than excited about its increasing use in daily life, and by December 2025 questionnaire 60% of Americans believe the industry should be better regulated to limit its potential negative effects on society.

Data shows voters are also upset about data centers’ impact on rising utility costs and energy consumption. when a February survey participants were asked to choose topics of greater concern in random contests against data center-related topics; they chose utility costs 64% of the time and energy consumption 59% of the time.

The fact that data centers require large amounts of water to cool equipment has also sparked controversy, especially in drought-prone regions. So are the climate impacts of the facilities. Although artificial intelligence advocates claim the sector can help reduce emissions, a report A report from the green group Center for Biological Diversity estimates that if current trends continue, data centers could account for nearly half of all U.S. emissions from the energy sector allowed by current national climate targets.

Electricity demand from data centers is also increasing electricity prices in some regions. A Bloomberg analysis found that in some regions with particularly high concentrations of data centers, energy costs have already increased by 267% over the past five years.

Amid growing concerns about those costs, the Trump administration hosted technology executives at the White House this month to “commit” that their companies would protect Americans from utility rate increases tied to the rising energy demand of data centers. Critics say the commitments are unenforceable and most Americans view them with skepticism. March survey shows.

“We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy, our democracy, and the future of humanity,” Sanders said in an emailed statement. “We need serious public debate and democratic oversight on this critically important issue. The time to act is now.”

Americans are also concerned about the impact of the artificial intelligence revolution on labor, lawmakers said at Wednesday’s press conference.

“Last year alone, AI was responsible for more than 54,000 layoffs nationwide,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And when we talk about these jobs, it’s not just a number. These are industries, these are communities, these are families.”

Another concern is the harmful effects of artificial intelligence on mental health.

“What does it mean when young people make friends with AI and become increasingly lonely and isolated from other people?” Sanders asked. “Everyone understands that we have a major mental health crisis for our young people right now. I fear that AI will make the situation worse.”

Sanders said he was also disturbed that AI companies were harming online privacy and also endangering democracy through the proliferation of “highly convincing fake images,” including of politicians. He added that leading scientists had told him that “Artificial intelligence may soon surpass human intelligence and operate independently, beyond our control, and if this happens, this will pose a profound threat to the survival of the human race.”

The Vermont senator also spoke about the need for AI protections on the Senate floor Tuesday night. “These multibillionaires are investing in artificial intelligence and robotics because these investments will exponentially increase their wealth and power,” he said.

Mitch Jones, Food and Water Watch’s managing director of policy and litigation, applauded the new proposal.

“We need to put an end to the explosive growth of new AI data center construction now because political and community leaders across the country have been caught completely off guard by this aggressive, profit-hungry industry,” he said. “Whether the industry will operate in a way that adequately protects people and society from the multitude of inherent hazards and harms that data centers bring wherever they appear remains to be determined.”

Sanders’ new proposal is unlikely to pass the Senate, especially at a time when the Trump administration is trying to encourage unfettered artificial intelligence growth. On Wednesday, Trump announced that big tech billionaires would be nominated to a new advisory committee to discuss artificial intelligence policies.

“The story of artificial intelligence is a story of corruption,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It is fueled and funded by the same multibillion-dollar corporations that lobby politicians to sit back and do nothing while they harm our communities.”

But the policy reflects the growing anger of many Americans toward both data centers and the artificial intelligence technologies they support.

“Big tech’s data center boom is an ecological disaster that is choking neighborhoods with diesel fumes,” said Camden Weber, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These corporate giants are depleting our drinking water and increasing our electricity bills with their fossil fuel-powered projects. We must put a pause to the environmental recklessness of the AI ​​tsunami before it’s too late.”