A bill intended to direct state utility regulators to consider requiring large data centers to cover their electricity infrastructure costs has stalled in the U.S. Senate, as reported by Sabrina Eaton of Cleveland.com. The proposed legislation, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act, aims to address the financial burden on ratepayers by requiring data centers drawing more than 100 megawatts of power to pay the full incremental cost of the electricity infrastructure they need.
The Ratepayer Protection Act saw strong bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives, passing with an overwhelming vote of 417 to 3. Following this decisive passage, Husted, a proponent of the bill, sought to fast-track its approval in the Senate. He asked the Senate for unanimous consent, a procedural move that would have allowed the bill to skip debate and pass quickly.
However, this effort was blocked by Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. Senator Heinrich, who serves as the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s top Democrat, raised objections to Husted’s approach. According to Heinrich, the Ratepayer Protection Act only asks state regulators to *consider* making data centers pay their infrastructure costs, rather than explicitly *requiring* them to do so.
Senator Heinrich stated that the bill "falls short of what we need to do to respond." He instead advocated for the Senate’s approval of his own alternative proposal, called the Grid Savings Act. Heinrich's proposal would mandate the protections, differing from Husted's bill by implementing a direct requirement instead of a consideration by state regulators. The Cleveland.com report described the situation as a "Senate flashpoint" occurring amid an "election battle."
In other news, survivors affected by an Ohio pharmaceutical company's distribution of a deformity-causing drug are seeking formal recognition and support, as reported by Tana Weingartner of The Ohio Newsroom/WVXU. Between the years 1959 and 1962, a pharmaceutical company located in Ohio distributed the drug thalidomide without obtaining the necessary approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
During this period, some mothers who were given thalidomide during their pregnancies subsequently gave birth to children with severely deformed limbs. The long-term impact of this unapproved distribution is still felt today. These survivors now advocate for the federal government to formally acknowledge their existence, seeking recognition for the suffering and challenges they have faced as a result of the drug's distribution.
