Lauren Boebert

Madam Speaker, America is in a race for the future, and that future is artificial intelligence.

We need to build data centers that will power American AI. We need to create jobs, grow our economy, and make sure that the next generation of technology is built right here in the United States.

But there is one principle that we should never compromise: American families should not be forced to pay for someone else's data center. That is exactly what the Ratepayer Protection Act addresses.

If a massive data center wants to come in and consume hundreds of megawatts of electricity, it should pay the full incremental costs of providing that power, not the families struggling to pay their electric bills and not the small businesses trying to keep their doors open. The companies creating the demand should pay for the demand.

This is not antibusiness. It is not anti-AI. It is certainly not antigrowth. It is common sense.

In fact, when we get this right, the data centers can actually strengthen communities. Georgia Power was able to freeze residential rates for 3 years as large-load growth expanded.

In Virginia, data centers took on a dramatically larger share of transmission costs while residential customers saw their share decline. In Loudoun County alone, data centers have generated $1.1 billion in tax revenue.

Madam Speaker, let's build. Let's compete. Let's win the AI race. Let's also protect the people who keep this country running. The Ratepayer Protection Act gives States a practical tool to make sure that massive new electricity users pay their fair share while preserving State authority over their energy markets.

America can lead the world in AI without making American families foot the bill. That is not a radical idea. That is responsible leadership, and I applaud my colleague from Colorado (Mr. Evans) for leading on this issue.

Madam Speaker, America is in a race for the future, and that future is artificial intelligence.

We need to build data centers that will power American AI. We need to create jobs, grow our economy, and make sure that the next generation of technology is built right here in the United States.

But there is one principle that we should never compromise: American families should not be forced to pay for someone else's data center. That is exactly what the Ratepayer Protection Act addresses.

If a massive data center wants to come in and consume hundreds of megawatts of electricity, it should pay the full incremental costs of providing that power, not the families struggling to pay their electric bills and not the small businesses trying to keep their doors open. The companies creating the demand should pay for the demand.

This is not antibusiness. It is not anti-AI. It is certainly not antigrowth. It is common sense.

In fact, when we get this right, the data centers can actually strengthen communities. Georgia Power was able to freeze residential rates for 3 years as large-load growth expanded.

In Virginia, data centers took on a dramatically larger share of transmission costs while residential customers saw their share decline. In Loudoun County alone, data centers have generated $1.1 billion in tax revenue.

Madam Speaker, let's build. Let's compete. Let's win the AI race. Let's also protect the people who keep this country running. The Ratepayer Protection Act gives States a practical tool to make sure that massive new electricity users pay their fair share while preserving State authority over their energy markets.

America can lead the world in AI without making American families foot the bill. That is not a radical idea. That is responsible leadership, and I applaud my colleague from Colorado (Mr. Evans) for leading on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of the judicial branch of the United States Government.

The Supreme Court of the United States is not a partisan prize to be captured. It is an independent branch of our government, and it must remain impartial.

My colleague's amendment to limit the Supreme Court to nine Justices preserves judicial fairness, ensures unbiased decisionmaking, and upholds the constitutional duties of our Nation's highest court.

Some on the left have advocated for expanding the Court to 13 Justices, paving the way for the majority of leftwing ideologues to sit on the Supreme Court under future Presidential administrations.

We cannot simply change the rules because one side thinks that they are not getting their way enough. That is not how a constitutional republic works, Mr. Speaker. This is what happens in the Third World, and it cannot happen here in America.

Democratic Socialists, kind of an oxymoron, are on the rise, and they want to pack the Court so they can impose an agenda the American people never voted for.

Look at what happened yesterday. Democrats could not even vote against socialism because their own party is overrun by self-proclaimed socialists. We already saw what the far left did under Joe Biden by opening our borders. Just imagine what they would do with a court packed with DSA judges.

The proposed expansion of the Supreme Court is not about faithfully interpreting the laws of the United States and the Constitution. Rather, the expansion would support a radical leftist agenda, repugnant to the ideas in equality, liberty, and impartial justice under the law of our Founding Fathers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption.