Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Summer Lee is backing federal legislation that would temporarily halt construction of new data centers while Congress develops national safeguards governing the rapidly expanding industry.
Lee has co-sponsored the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, a proposal calling for a temporary pause on new data center construction until comprehensive federal protections are established.
The Pittsburgh-area congresswoman discussed her concerns about the industry’s rapid expansion during a recent summit at Carnegie Mellon University, drawing comparisons between today’s data center boom and the history of heavy industrial development in western Pennsylvania.
Lee, who grew up in the Mon Valley, pointed to the environmental and economic legacy left by earlier industrial development in working-class communities. She argued that communities hosting the next generation of technology infrastructure should not be left with environmental costs without receiving lasting economic benefits.
Her support for a federal moratorium comes as opposition to data center development is increasing in Pennsylvania and elsewhere around the country.
Concerns have focused on the enormous amounts of electricity required by large data centers, their potential effects on utility rates, water consumption, noise and other environmental impacts. Communities are also questioning whether the permanent jobs and other economic benefits promised by developers are sufficient to offset those impacts.
Pennsylvania has emerged as an important battleground in the debate. The state has attracted proposals for scores of new data centers while state and local officials have simultaneously begun imposing tighter controls on their development.
The debate is increasingly moving beyond individual zoning disputes and into statehouses and Congress, where lawmakers are considering how much oversight should accompany the extraordinary expansion of computing infrastructure required by artificial intelligence.
Lee’s support for the moratorium places her among federal lawmakers arguing that regulation should catch up with the industry’s growth before another wave of projects is constructed.
Source: This report is based primarily on reporting by Axios Pittsburgh concerning Rep. Summer Lee’s support for the AI Data Center Moratorium Act.