Katie Britt urges Congress to codify Trump’s data center pledge into law

Senator Katie Britt wants Congress to stop treating a handshake deal like it’s a binding contract. In a September 4 interview, the Alabama Republican called on lawmakers to turn President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a voluntary commitment from tech giants to cover the full costs of their data centers’ electricity and grid infrastructure, into federal law. The logic is straightforward: data centers are vacuuming up power at an extraordinary rate to feed the AI boom, and someone has to pay for the grid upgrades. Britt’s argument is that “someone” should be Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, not the family in Birmingham paying their monthly electric bill. From pledge to legislation Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge launched on March 4, 2026, with seven major AI companies signing on. By July 23, it had ballooned to 187 organizations and 23 governors, collectively covering roughly 80% of US power delivery. The legislative vehicle already exists. The Ratepayer Protection Act, designated H.R. 9340, cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July with a 52-0 vote. Britt is now pushing the Senate to match that momentum and get the bill to the president’s desk. The water probl...