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Democratic lawmakers in Congress have introduced a bill that would place a moratorium on the construction of new artificial intelligence data centers.
According to the Guardian, the bill comes from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and is aimed at mitigating the impacts that data centers have on land and water use, as well as local household electricity prices. Additionally, temporarily halting the construction of data centers would give the U.S. government time to set up more guardrails around AI technology, the lawmakers said.
Read More: AI’s Rapid Rise Is Outpacing Our Infrastructure
“AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity,” Sanders said in a statement. “The scale, scope, and speed of that change is unprecedented. Congress is way behind where it should be in understanding the nature of this revolution and its impacts.”
Pushback against AI data centers has quickly gained momentum in cities and towns across the United States. Denver, Colorado, announced its own moratorium in late February, other temporary bans have taken hold in cities in Missouri, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina, and another 11 states are currently weighing similar policies.
A coalition of environmental groups also put out a letter in December 2025, urging Congress to take action on a national moratorium. Research from Cornell University estimated that the current rate of AI growth would put 24-44 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere annually by 2030, equivalent to adding 5-10 million cars to U.S. roads. Separate research from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute found that a single mid-sized data center can consume up to 110 million gallons of water for cooling purposes each year, equal to roughly 1,000 households.
Read More: How Water Risk is Threatening the World’s Supply Chains
In Virginia — which has one of the highest concentrations of data centers in the country — electricity prices have risen by up to 267% over the last five years. Water levels in the Potomac Aquifer have also fallen by as much as 30 meters in some spots, as data centers have drained down reserves that provide a key source of drinkable groundwater for the region.
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