Data center construction would be barred on certain federal lands

Builders would be barred from constructing data centers on covered federal lands, regardless of other laws. The ban would cover National Forest System land and land managed by the Interior Department. Land within reservations, pueblos, and rancherias would be excluded. Outside those areas, exclusions would cover land held in federal trust for tribes or Native individuals, land they hold with federal limits on transfer, and land held by dependent Native communities.

Land transfers would need a clause returning ownership to the United States if the land is used for a data center. This would cover National Forest System land and land managed by the Interior Department, excluding specified Native lands. The return rule would not apply if a law passed by Congress specifically allowed that data center use. This requirement would apply to transfers on or after the bill becomes law.