Ricketts Supports Ratepayer Protection Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) announced his support for the Ratepayer Protection Act. Senator Ricketts is a cosponsor of this legislation introduced by Senator Jon Husted (R-OH).

"Nebraskans should not be responsible for footing the bill of data centers," said Sen. Ricketts. "Senate Republicans know this and are pushing a bill that passed the House nearly unanimously to protect ratepayers. I am working to protect Nebraskans' wallets while Democrats blocked this commonsense legislation."

The Ratepayer Protection Act would require data centers to pay the full utility cost needed to serve them. It would prevent rate hikes for ratepayers in communities where data centers are developing.

"We need to beat Communist China in the AI race. This bill would strengthen our national security and protect American families' wallets," said Ricketts.

The House of Representatives passed the Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340) on September 16, 2026, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 417-3.