Legislation· Sep 2026Sponsored by Gabe Evans (R)
Ratepayer Protection Act
Requires states to consider cost-recovery rates for large data center customers' power infrastructure upgrades.
Tradeoff
Imposes a federal ratemaking standard on state utility regulators with minimal federal cost. State agencies bear small administrative costs to review and decide whether to adopt the standard.
What's in it
No federal budgetary cost or savings over any time period.
The federal government has no net cost to enforce this rule—the bill simply requires state utility commissions to consider new ratemaking criteria for large data centers, with compliance costs to those state agencies estimated as small and below the statutory mandate threshold.
The House passed this 417-3 on September 16, 2026. The Senate attempted on September 30, 2026, to proceed to debate, but the motion failed 57-43, leaving the bill stalled.
House
Introduced
(Jun 18, 2026)
House
Committee on Energy and Commerce(Jun 18, 2026)
House
The Committee on Energy and Commerce voted to send it to the floor
Reported 52 - 0(Jul 21, 2026)
Committee report H. Rept. 119-814.
House
On Motion to and Pass, as Amended
Passed(Roll #312 · Sep 16, 2026)
417 yeanay 3Senate
Received from the House
Received(Sep 17, 2026)
Senate
On on the
Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 9340
Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected(Roll #254 · Sep 30, 2026)
57 yeanay 43
- Kathy Castor (D-FL)
- Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ)
- John Joyce (R-PA)
- Michael T. McCaul (R-TX)
- Michael Baumgartner (R-WA)
- Clay Fuller (R-GA)
- Robert J. Wittman (R-VA)
- Robert F. Onder (R-MO)
- Harriet M. Hageman (R-WY)
- Thomas H. Kean (R-NJ)
- Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)
- John J. McGuire (R-VA)
- H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
- Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA)
- Sanford D. Bishop (D-GA)
- Jennifer L. McClellan (D-VA)
- Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
- Laurel M. Lee (R-FL)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Ben Cline (R-VA)
- Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
- Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI)
- Lauren Boebert (R-CO)
- Michael Lawler (R-NY)
- Beth Van Duyne (R-TX)
- Brad Finstad (R-MN)
- Jeff Crank (R-CO)
- Riley M. Moore (R-WV)
- Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA)
- Jim Jordan (R-OH)
- Jennifer A. Kiggans (R-VA)
- John R. Moolenaar (R-MI)
- Randy K. Sr. Weber (R-TX)
- Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ)
- Maggie Goodlander (D-NH)
- Bill Huizenga (R-MI)
- Jeff Hurd (R-CO)
- David G. Valadao (R-CA)
- Tom Barrett (R-MI)
- Monica De La Cruz (R-TX)
- Pat Fallon (R-TX)
- Mike Flood (R-NE)
Passage votes so far· Sep 16, 2026· 119th Congress · 2025–2027