US Senator Bernie Sanders (Senator Vermont.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat N.Y.) unveiled legislation on Monday aimed at pausing the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the United States. The proposed Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act of 2026 would temporarily halt new AI data centers until federal safeguards are in place.
The legislation sections would set federal requirements to ensure AI is safe and effective, that economic gains benefit workers rather than just tech executives, and that AI development does not harm communities or the environment. It would also restrict U.S. exports of AI computing infrastructure to countries lacking similar safeguards.
“AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity. The scale, scope and speed of that change is unprecedented. Congress is way behind where it should be in understanding the nature of this revolution and its impacts,” said Bernie Sanders, adding, “We need serious public debate and democratic oversight over this enormously consequential issue. The time for action is now. We need a federal moratorium on AI data centers.”
“We have seen ICE partner with AI companies to surveil Americans, social media users employ AI bots to create sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children, and data center construction inflate electric bills in communities across the country. And all of this harm has occurred because of the absence of federal legislation to regulate AI,” said Ocasio-Cortez, emphasizing the social risks linked to AI development, citing surveillance and online abuse. “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 AI poses to our society. We must choose humanity over profit.”
Local governments and states have already begun taking action. More than 100 communities nationwide have enacted moratoriums on data centers, and 12 states are considering state wide pauses.
The move echoes concerns raised by industry leaders and AI researchers in recent years. In 2023, over 1,000 scientists and executives, including Elon Musk, Yoshua Bengio, and Stuart Russell, called for an immediate six-month pause on AI development. Musk has since said he has “a lot of AI nightmares” and would “certainly slow down AI and robotics” if possible. Leaders from Google DeepMind and Anthropic have also expressed conditional support for pausing AI development if coordinated internationally.