RATEPAYER PROTECTION ACT

On 2026-09-30, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) delivered a floor speech titled "RATEPAYER PROTECTION ACT" in the Senate.

RATEPAYER PROTECTION ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 155 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 155 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S5198] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RATEPAYER PROTECTION ACT Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the motion to proceed to H.R. 9340. Electricity demand, as we all know, is growing, driven in large part by hyperscalers and data centers. Tech companies have promised to pay their fair share and not make American households pay the extra costs, but it is not enough to take their word for it, and it is not enough to merely tell States to consider--consider--making utilities charge data centers for all of the costs associated with the generation, additional transmission, and distribution upgrades necessary to serve them. States are already taking action. According to the Smart Electric Power Alliance, more than 30 States have adopted specific retail rate structures for large loads like data centers. H.R. 9340 simply does not protect Americans from high utility bills. Let me be clear. This bill has no--zero--requirement that data centers actually pay for their own grid upgrades. H.R. 9340 might make some Members of the Senate feel good about voting on a bill that sounds like it does something about data centers. Let me be clear. This is nothing more than a messaging bill on the eve of an election. Rather than voluntary pledges or vague suggestions to States, Congress needs to pass a law with real teeth. If voluntary pledges and suggestions worked, families and small businesses wouldn't already be staring down rate hikes right now. So let's require data centers to pay for their incremental costs and prohibit by law passing those costs on to consumers. I would urge my colleagues to vote no. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HR9340, HR9340