Sen. Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) is calling for a nationwide pause on new data center construction until Congress guarantees that the facilities’ electricity needs will not increase household utility bills. The Missouri Republican included a moratorium among his priorities for the Senate’s remaining legislative session. His spokesperson told Politico that he wants a consumer “bill of rights” before construction proceeds. Detailed terms for that proposal have not been announced. Hawley previously joined Sen. Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) in introducing the GRID Act in February. That bill would require new data centers to obtain power from sources separate from the existing grid and publicly disclose their electricity usage. The earlier legislation also would give consumers priority on the grid and allow existing data centers a 10-year transition to alternative power sources. Those provisions are proposed requirements, not rules already in effect. The broader debate has intensified after the midterm elections. Benzinga reported that candidates supporting tighter data center restrictions made substantial gains, while separate Democratic proposals have sought a national construction pause. Hawley has not said whether he supports those bills. The disagreement now reaches beyond how quickly AI infrastructure can be built. It centers on who pays for the additional power generation and grid investment, and whether households receive enforceable protection before the next wave of projects moves forward.