Heinrich says the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short
Martin HeinrichU.S. senator from New Mexico
Martin Heinrich says the bill falls short and calls for mandatory obligations on data centers.
“BUT THE RATEPAYER PROTECTION ACT FALLS SHORT OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO RESPOND.”
Original video
Where this statement fits
Would Jon Husted's Ratepayer Protection Act protect households from data-center costs?
Jon Husted and the bill's House sponsors say the Ratepayer Protection Act would stop households from paying for infrastructure needed by large data centers. Critics question whether requiring regulators to consider protective standards would deliver that result.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Heinrich objects to advancing the Ratepayer Protection Act and argues for mandatory requirements on data centers.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Sen. Martin Heinrich speaks on the Senate floor about the Ratepayer Protection Act, in video published Sept. 17, 2026.
DI added its logo in the corner.
Video: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Democrats. Public domain (U.S. government work) (opens in a new tab)
Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: 00:50)
Before the quotation
Heinrich spoke on the Senate floor while reserving the right to object to the bill.
After the quotation
He contrasts requirements to pay household bills with the proposal to ask states to consider data-center standards.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Heinrich criticizes the proposed bill as insufficient, saying Congress needs requirements with teeth.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseBaratta says the bill mandates consideration without actual safeguards
“it only requires states to consider ratepayer protection, without mandating any actual safeguards around paying for data center energy use.”Read statement
Thune defends the ratepayer bill as consequential
“I don’t know how you can say something that passed the House of Representatives 417-3 isn’t consequential,”Read statement
Husted says his bill makes data centers pay their fair share
“My bill ensures that large data centers pay their fair share of electricity costs, infrastructure costs that they require, requiring them to own the responsibility for those costs rather than shifting them to other ratepayers.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Heinrich says the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6165-martin-heinrich-says-the-bill-falls-short-and
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Heinrich says the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short". First published: 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20. https://disputeindex.com/events/6165-martin-heinrich-says-the-bill-falls-short-and