The Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act would stop the construction or upgrading of new artificial intelligence data centers once enacted, unless and until Congress passes new laws that it says protect workers, consumers, privacy, civil rights, the environment, and the public from AI risks. It defines covered facilities broadly, including sites used to develop or operate AI models at scale and larger data centers over 20 megawatts with high-power racks or liquid-cooling systems. The bill also requires quarterly reporting by the Secretary of Energy on water use, energy use, emissions, wages, jobs, wastewater, noise, and any subsidies received. In addition, the bill begins to set export-control rules for computing infrastructure hardware such as semiconductors and integrated circuits in Section 4.
What This Bill Does
- Would bar construction or upgrading of covered AI data centers until Congress passes new AI-safety legislation.
- Defines covered facilities as AI model sites or data centers over 20 megawatts with high-power racks or liquid cooling.
- Requires the Secretary of Energy to file quarterly public reports on water, energy, emissions, wages, jobs, and subsidies.
- Lets the Secretary of Energy use subpoenas, interrogatories, inspections, and permitting conditions to verify compliance.
- Section 4 starts export controls for computing infrastructure hardware, including semiconductors and integrated circuits.
Who This Bill Affects
For most Americans, the bill would not change daily life immediately, but it could slow or halt new AI data center construction in their region and delay associated jobs, power demand, and local development. If you live near a proposed AI data center, the bill could also affect electricity prices, water use, noise, and environmental impacts because the Secretary of Energy would have to report on those factors quarterly, and the moratorium would block projects until Congress enacts the specified protections. Workers in construction, utilities, and data-center operations would be the most directly affected if planned projects are paused or canceled.
See how this bill affects you — sign in for a personalized analysisWho Supports & Opposes This
- AI safety advocates They would argue the bill is a necessary pause on a rapidly scaling technology infrastructure before the government has real safeguards in place. The bill directly ties the end of the moratorium to laws requiring pre-release federal review of AI products and protections for workers, consumers, privacy, and civil rights.
- Labor unions and worker advocates They may support the bill because it conditions future AI data centers on union jobs, prevailing wages, registered apprenticeship programs, and project labor agreements. Supporters could also see the moratorium as a way to slow automation-driven job displacement until Congress addresses labor protections.
- Environmental and community groups They could back the reporting and moratorium provisions because large data centers can increase electricity demand, water use, wastewater, greenhouse-gas emissions, and noise. The bill specifically requires reporting on those impacts and says future projects should not raise utility bills or worsen climate change.
- Data center developers and cloud infrastructure companies They are likely to oppose a construction moratorium because it would delay or block new facilities and upgrades even before any specific safety violation is shown. The reporting, permitting, and verification provisions would also increase compliance burdens and uncertainty for new projects.
- Semiconductor and hardware suppliers They may object to the export-control framework in Section 4 because it signals tighter federal restrictions on computing infrastructure hardware such as semiconductors and integrated circuits. That could complicate sales, supply chains, and investment tied to AI buildout.
- Local governments seeking new investment Communities that are hoping for property tax revenue, construction activity, and long-term employment from data centers may see the bill as a barrier to economic development. The moratorium could delay projects that have already been planned or negotiated locally.
Key Implications
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““construction or upgrading ... may not commence or proceed””
This is the bill’s central freeze: covered AI data-center projects could be stopped before they start or paused midstream until the required follow-on laws are enacted.
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““review and approve artificial intelligence products before those products are released””
The bill would condition the end of the moratorium on a new federal pre-market approval regime for AI products, which would be a major change for developers and deployers of AI systems.
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““the artificial intelligence data center does not increase utility or electricity bills of consumers””
Future AI data centers would need to avoid passing energy costs onto households, reflecting concern that large facilities can strain local power systems and raise consumer bills.
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““communities ... are empowered to approve or reject””
This gives affected communities a direct say over future projects after the moratorium ends, potentially strengthening local control over siting decisions.
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““quarterly reports on artificial intelligence data centers””
DOE would have to track and publish detailed facility-level information on water, energy, emissions, jobs, wages, waste, and subsidies, increasing transparency and oversight.
Official Source & Bill Facts
BillBoard checks this page against public Congress.gov metadata, then adds plain-English analysis where available.
- Bill
- HR 9442
- Congress
- 119th Congress
- Official title
- Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act
- Policy area
- Technology
- Latest action
- Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. (June 24, 2026)
- Last updated
- June 25, 2026
Latest Status
June 24, 2026
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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Ask AI about this billData sourced from api.congress.gov.