Sanders and AOC Introduce Data Center Construction Moratorium Bill

Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, which would ban new data center construction until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation including worker and consumer protections, environmental impact limits, union labor requirements, and pre-release model certification. The bill is unlikely to advance in either chamber but signals progressive concern about AI infrastructure's energy footprint and labor impact. The legislation arrives amid skyrocketing energy costs driven partly by the Iran war and growing competition between AI compute demand and residential power needs.