Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have introduced legislation for a federal pause on AI data center construction and expansion.
The Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act would freeze new development until Congress establishes safeguards. The bills, introduced in March and June 2026, target concerns over rising electricity demand, water consumption, and local communities absorbing costs without proportional economic returns.
The federal push follows state-level action. New York's legislature passed a one-year moratorium on large data centers in June 2026. If signed by the governor, New York would be the first state to enact such a measure.
Similar discussions are underway in Seattle and parts of Wisconsin. Lawmakers are focusing on the energy competition between data centers and Bitcoin miners. Bitcoin operations can adjust power loads flexibly, acting as a grid pressure valve, while AI data centers typically require constant, uninterruptible power.
The legislative efforts in Seattle and Wisconsin already reference both AI and crypto operations. If energy-intensive computing is broadly regulated, crypto mining could face similar restrictions, potentially shrinking the viable locations for such facilities.