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New Mexico Democrat blocks bipartisan bill aimed toward protecting taxpayers from data center costs

deseret.com · 7h · first reportShare

A bipartisan bill to prevent taxpayers from covering the costs of massive data centers was blocked in the Senate on Thursday, stripping Republicans and Democrats of a legislative victory that would have been used as campaign messaging heading into the midterms. The proposal overwhelmingly passed the House in a near-unanimous vote earlier this week, marking a rare moment of bipartisanship at a time where both parties are seeking control of Congress. However, the bill was blocked after Republicans pushed to fast-track its passage in the Senate. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, sought unanimous consent to approve the bill on Thursday in an effort to quiet attacks in his competitive reelection fight over the cost of data centers. But that effort was thwarted by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who argued the proposal does not go far enough to protect taxpayers. House advances bipartisan bill to shield taxpayers from cost of data centers “The Ratepayer Protection Act does not do enough to address the