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Senate Democrat blocked a data center utility cost bill from passing before the election

Sen. Martin Heinrich objected to a unanimous consent request for the House-passed bill, likely killing its chances before November's midterm elections

Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

Sen. Martin Heinrich, New Mexico's senior Democrat and ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, on Thursday blocked the Ratepayer Protection Act, a Republican-backed bill intended to protect consumers from utility rate hikes driven by AI data center demand.

Sen. Jon Husted, Republican of Ohio, invoked the unanimous consent procedure, which would have allowed the chamber to approve the bill without holding a recorded vote. Sen. Heinrich's objection killed that path forward. With the Senate set to........

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