AI data center construction would pause until Congress sets safeguards

Developers would have to halt construction and upgrades of covered data centers. Coverage includes connected sites under common ownership, operation, or corporate control that run AI at scale. It also includes such sites with power capacity or peak load above 20 megawatts and equipment designed for racks receiving at least 20 kilowatts or for liquid cooling of hardware. Congress would have to pass laws meeting the bill's requirements and expressly ending the pause before work could resume. The pause would begin upon enactment and cover work already underway and work that has not started.

Congress would have to enact the required protections before ending the pause. The laws would require federal review and approval of AI products before release, policies to prevent AI job losses, and sharing company-generated wealth with Americans. For centers built or upgraded after the pause, the laws would prevent higher consumer utility bills and environmental harm, give affected communities approval or rejection power, bar government subsidies, and require union jobs with strong labor standards.

The Commerce Department would prohibit covered computer hardware exports, onward shipments, and transfers within foreign countries. Covered hardware includes chips and products containing chips, such as computers, networking equipment, and storage systems. The restrictions concern use in AI data centers or other large-scale AI training or deployment. The restrictions would cover transfers to or within countries lacking comparable safeguards, and transfers to people in those countries. The restrictions would apply on and after enactment.

The Energy Department would send Congress quarterly reports and publish them on its website. Reports would cover data centers meeting the bill's definition, including their water use, energy needs, and pollution. Reports would include each center's financing, environmental effects, and worker pay and benefits.