WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act on March 25, proposing an immediate halt to AI data center expansion until Congress enacts national safeguards governing the technology's development and societal effects.
Sanders pointed to the speed of technological change and the slow response from lawmakers. "AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity," Sanders said, adding that Congress has not kept pace with understanding the impacts.
He also warned against concentrated corporate power. "We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy, our democracy and the future of humanity," Sanders said, calling for public debate and democratic oversight.
Ocasio-Cortez cited specific harms she linked to the absence of federal oversight: Immigration and Customs Enforcement partnering with AI companies for surveillance, and AI tools generating sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children.
"All of this harm has occurred because of the absence of federal legislation to regulate AI," Ocasio-Cortez said. She argued Congress has a "moral obligation" to stop data center expansion and choose "humanity over profit."
The bill would impose an immediate federal moratorium on new and upgraded AI data centers. The pause would remain until safeguards are in place to address climate and environmental impacts, prevent utility cost increases, reduce job displacement and require AI companies to share generated wealth with the American people.
The legislation also includes an export ban, prohibiting U.S. exports of AI computing infrastructure to countries that lack their own protections for AI safety, workers and the environment — a provision aimed at preventing a global race to eliminate jobs or build destructive AI systems.
More than 100 communities across the United States have already enacted moratoriums on data centers, and 12 states are pursuing statewide proposals.
The bill echoes a 2023 open letter signed by more than 1,000 scientists and industry leaders — including Elon Musk, Yoshua Bengio and Stuart Russell — urging AI labs to pause development for at least six months and calling on governments to impose a moratorium if a voluntary halt did not occur.
Musk, who leads xAI, said in December that he experiences "a lot of AI nightmares" and would "certainly slow down AI and robotics" if he could. Demis Hassabis, head of Google's DeepMind, said in January he would support an AI pause if other nations and companies also halted development.
The legislation faces long odds in a divided Congress. Its emphasis on democratic oversight and wealth-sharing aligns with progressive priorities but is expected to draw opposition from industry lobbyists and lawmakers who oppose restrictions on technological development.
If passed, the moratorium would directly affect Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta, all of which operate large data centers for AI processing and have announced major expansion plans.
