Ocasio-Cortez Introduces AI Data Center Moratorium Act
The bill expands a Senate effort to pause data center growth.
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2026 – House Democrats have formally joined a Senate effort to halt the growth of artificial intelligence data centers.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced the House companion to Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' AI Data Center Moratorium Act on Tuesday, expanding a bicameral effort to halt new development pending federal safeguards.
The bill has nine Democratic co-sponsors in the House. House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said Wednesday Congress should enact a national AI data center moratorium, reflecting growing support among some congressional Democrats.
However, the bill faces long odds in the current Congress, given the administration’s broader emphasis on accelerating AI development and infrastructure buildout.
Measure would require worker protections and community approval
Specifically, the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act would impose an immediate moratorium on the construction and expansion of artificial intelligence data centers once enacted. It defines “AI data centers” broadly to include facilities used for large-scale AI model development or those exceeding 20 megawatts of power capacity.
The moratorium would remain in place until Congress passes new laws establishing a federal approval system for AI products, requiring government review before deployment.
The legislation also requires that future AI development policies ensure economic benefits are shared more broadly, including measures to prevent job displacement and expand worker compensation. The bill requires AI giants to adhere to labor standards, including prevailing wages, union protections, apprenticeship programs, and project labor agreements.
To lift the moratorium, Congress would also need to guarantee that AI data centers do not raise electricity costs, worsen environmental impacts, or proceed without community approval. The bill further requires that future facilities be built without government subsidies.
“We have seen ICE partner with AI companies to surveil Americans, social media users employ AI bots to create sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children, and data center construction inflate electric bills in communities across the country. And all of this harm has occurred because of the absence of federal legislation to regulate AI,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“Congress has a moral obligation to stand with the American people and stop the expansion of these data centers until we have a framework to adequately address the existential harm AI poses to our society. We must choose humanity over profit,” she said.
Sanders expands push for public benefits from AI growth
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who introduced the moratorium legislation in March, has also pursued broader proposals to give Americans a financial stake in AI growth.
Sanders recently introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would give Americans a direct ownership stake in major artificial intelligence companies through a federally managed investment fund.
Sanders said that the estimated funds would be worth about $7 trillion, and every American would get a $1,000 dividend check with chances for increases as AI’s value continues to increase.
