Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced bills to halt AI rollouts amid growing opposition to the technology.
Published on 26 March 2026
Two progressive lawmakers in the United States are pushing for a moratorium on new AI data centers to ensure that the fast-advancing technology does not threaten “the future of humanity.”
The legislation unveiled by Senator Bernie Sanders and House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday would halt the construction of data centers until national security measures are introduced to protect workers’ livelihoods, civil liberties and the environment.
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Sanders, an independent representing the state of Vermont, said the postponement was needed because lawmakers were “far behind” in their understanding of AI.
“The bottom line is that 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.
He said, “We need serious public debate and democratic oversight on this highly consequential issue. Now is the time for action. We need a federal moratorium on AI data centers.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing New York, said the lack of national legislation regulating AI has already resulted in harms ranging from mass government surveillance to the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children.
He said, “Congress has a moral obligation to stand with the American people and stop the expansion of these data centers until we have a framework to adequately address the existential harm that AI is causing to our society.”
“We must choose humanity over profit.”
The proposed legislation comes amid a growing grassroots reaction in communities across the US over the trend of data centers, which consume huge amounts of water and electricity.
At least 36 data centers in the US were blocked or delayed between May 2024 and June 2025, disrupting $162 billion in investment, according to Data Center Watch, a research project by AI security company 10A Labs.
Opposition to the projects, much of it driven by concerns about rising electricity prices and environmental damage, has crossed partisan lines in Republican- and Democratic-led states, including Virginia, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri and Oregon.
In a poll published by NBC News earlier this month, 57 percent of registered US voters said they believed the risks from AI outweigh the benefits, while 34 percent felt the opposite.
According to the survey, only 26 percent of voters said they had positive views about AI, while 46 percent of voters had negative views.
The Sanders-Ocasio-Cortez bill nevertheless faces an uphill battle in the US Congress, where Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and even Democrats are divided on how to regulate AI.
Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who represents Pennsylvania, on Wednesday rejected the proposed moratorium, calling it “China first.”
Fetterman said, “The emerging chassis of AI must be built by America. We can put appropriate guardrails in place without ceding victory over AI to China.”
The administration of US President Donald Trump, which has favored a light-hearted approach to regulating AI, last week released a long-awaited national AI framework that made recommendations for legislation at the national level.
The four-page document called on lawmakers to remove barriers to innovation and accelerate AI deployment while implementing measures to protect children, control electricity prices, and maintain intellectual property rights and freedom of speech.
