Sanders and AOC Propose Federal Moratorium on New AI Data Centers

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced companion legislation on March 25, 2026, to suspend the construction of new AI data centers across the United States until Congress enacts comprehensive regulations addressing workers' livelihoods, civil liberties, and environmental resources.

The Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act

The bill, titled the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, would pause construction and upgrades of AI data centers exceeding certain electricity load thresholds. The moratorium would only be lifted once federal laws address three key areas:

• AI Product Review: The federal government must review AI products before release to ensure they do not threaten the health and well-being of working families, privacy, civil rights, or humanity's future.
• Economic Distribution: Laws ensuring AI-generated wealth benefits workers and prevents mass job displacement, requiring companies to share prosperity with Americans.
• Infrastructure Limits: Legislation preventing data centers from increasing electricity costs, harming the environment, or expanding without community consent, while requiring union jobs and banning government subsidies.

The bill also mandates Commerce Department restrictions on exporting computing hardware to countries lacking equivalent regulations.

Why Now

The legislation comes amid a growing wave of community opposition to data center construction across the country. According to research by Data Center Watch, at least 36 data centers were blocked or delayed between May 2024 and June 2025, disrupting an estimated $162 billion in planned investment. Opposition has cut across partisan lines, spanning Republican and Democratic-led states including Virginia, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, and Oregon.

Data centers consume massive quantities of water and electricity, often driving up utility costs for surrounding communities while generating few permanent jobs in return. Many residents view them not as economic engines but as drains on local resources that benefit from generous tax incentives.

In Sand Springs, Oklahoma, a group of local residents marched into City Hall with paperwork for a ballot measure to recall the entire City Council — including Mayor Jim Spoon — in response to a proposed Google data center project.

Lawmakers Speak Out

"Bottom line: 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 a statement.

Ocasio-Cortez echoed the urgency: "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."

Public Sentiment Shifts Against AI

The legislation reflects a broader shift in American public opinion. An NBC News poll found that 57 percent of registered U.S. voters believe the risks from AI outweigh the benefits, while only 34 percent feel the opposite. Just 26 percent view AI positively overall, compared to 46 percent who hold negative views.

Trust in either political party to handle AI remains low: 33 percent trust neither party, 20 percent favor Republicans, and 19 percent favor Democrats on the issue.

Political Pushback

The bill faces significant opposition. Democratic Senator John Fetterman dismissed the moratorium as "China First," arguing that the United States must continue building AI infrastructure to maintain its competitive edge against global rivals.

The Trump administration's current framework encourages Congress to streamline data center permitting and avoid imposing "open-ended" liability on AI firms, while preempting state-level regulations — a position directly at odds with the Sanders-AOC proposal.

The bill is considered unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled Congress, but its introduction signals the growing political salience of AI infrastructure concerns and may influence the ongoing debate around federal AI regulation.

What This Means

Whether or not the moratorium passes, the political dynamics around AI infrastructure are shifting rapidly. Communities that once welcomed big tech investments are increasingly pushing back, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are paying attention. The tension between America's AI ambitions and the real-world costs of powering them is unlikely to resolve quickly.

Source: Al Jazeera