Rep. Salinas Introduces Bill to Tax Data Centers, Reinvest in Housing, Conservation, and Infrastructure

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06) introduced the Data Center Community Reinvestment Act, a bill that would tax the electricity data centers use and send that money to programs that build affordable housing, protect public lands and waterways, clean up hazardous waste sites, fund clean energy projects, and repair roads and bridges.

"As AI use expands and the demand for data centers grows, we need to ensure our communities aren't left footing the bill," said Rep. Salinas. "This bill taxes the energy used by data centers and reinvests that money in the programs our communities rely on, from affordable housing to conservation to cleaning up hazardous waste sites. Every community deserves to drive a hard bargain with data center developers, and at the end of the day, every community deserves to share in the benefits from data center growth."

As data center demand grows, so will the strain on local infrastructure. Rep. Salinas' bill would place a 1-cent-per-kilowatt-hour excise tax on electricity used by any data center with more than 1 megawatt of power capacity, whether that power comes from the grid or is generated on-site. Based on current data center electricity use nationwide, the tax is projected to raise about $1.76 billion a year.

The bill would split that revenue equally five ways among the following federal programs and funds:

• The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which protects public lands and waterways. It would receive about $352 million more a year, an increase of nearly 40 percent.
• The Housing Trust Fund, which builds and preserves affordable housing for the lowest-income households. It would receive about $352 million more a year, more than doubling its current funding.
• The Hazardous Substance Superfund, which pays for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites when no responsible party can be identified.
• The Highway Trust Fund, which funds road, bridge, and transit projects nationwide.
• The Energy Technology Trust Fund, which would fund federal loan guarantees for clean energy, advanced nuclear, and grid infrastructure projects. Last year, Republicans rescinded funding for this loan guarantee program. Rep. Salinas' bill would restore a dedicated funding source for it.

Click here to view the full text of the legislation.

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