Kathy Castor
Representative for Florida · Democratic · United States
“We should incentivize data centers to be empowered by clean energy and prioritize projects that can reduce demand during peak hours. But notably, this bill does allow States to do some of those things. The States now can set additional specific guardrails.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“They are not alone because across the country, electricity prices are up on average 15 percent, but much higher in many places. But now there is a new stressor: massive hyperscale data centers are connecting to the grid. These are energy hogs. They are massive. The descriptors know no end.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“Kansas incentivized data centers to participate in demand response programs to reduce peak demand. This bill also empowers local communities to make decisions on the siting and building of data centers. It allows for robust community input, not NDAs, nondisclosure agreements, where they try to sneak in.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“As hardworking Americans are just trying to make ends meet, they shouldn't carry Big Tech's data center load as well. That is why we hammered out the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, to ensure that data centers pay the full cost of their energy demand and upgrades.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“They host thousands of servers, computer storage, networks, and then they have these giant cooling systems that also require massive amounts of energy as well. Massive hyperscale data centers can continuously consume over 100 megawatts, with the largest facilities consuming over 650 megawatts.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“There is no reason why the average American should be subsidizing their electricity upgrades and costs. I am eager to keep advancing bipartisan, real solutions to invest in our U.S. power grid, which is reaching the end of its useful life, which is also raising costs on Americans.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
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“There is no reason why the average American should be subsidizing their electricity upgrades and costs. I am eager to keep advancing bipartisan, real solutions to invest in our U.S. power grid, which is reaching the end of its useful life, which is also raising costs on Americans. We have just got to remain clear-eyed that right now our neighbors are suffering an affordability squeeze. They deserve so much better than what they are getting right now. This Ratepayer Protection Act is a good first start, but it is a modest first start. It is about fairness on this one. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“Kansas incentivized data centers to participate in demand response programs to reduce peak demand. This bill also empowers local communities to make decisions on the siting and building of data centers. It allows for robust community input, not NDAs, nondisclosure agreements, where they try to sneak in. For example, in Florida, at least 20 counties and municipalities passed or discussed very strict guardrails on data centers. In my home county, Hillsborough County, many say that is not the appropriate place for a data center because we don't have the water resources and we don't have the electricity yet to do that. There are places in America that don't want them. We need to keep working on this, but this is a very important first step. These are the wealthiest corporations in America.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“We should incentivize data centers to be empowered by clean energy and prioritize projects that can reduce demand during peak hours. But notably, this bill does allow States to do some of those things. The States now can set additional specific guardrails. For example, States can require that data centers are powered by clean energy and don't damage local water supplies. They can require investments in grid-enhancing technologies or virtual power plants. States can even require that data centers fund weatherization initiatives or deployment of energy-saving batteries, rooftop solar, and heat pumps. For example, Virginia is requiring data centers to cover new transmission and distribution capacity costs. Minnesota requires data centers to pay into an energy conservation and weatherization fund to benefit working-class neighbors.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“As hardworking Americans are just trying to make ends meet, they shouldn't carry Big Tech's data center load as well. That is why we hammered out the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, to ensure that data centers pay the full cost of their energy demand and upgrades. It says that if a company wants to build a data center, they should pay for the power and grid upgrades they need, not the rest of us. This bill will require those data centers to cover all the costs. It is an important first step. I know some people say this is not enough. It is not enough. It is not enough, but it does provide some first steps. Congress has to do more. We should set stricter requirements for States to report their progress to Congress so we can ensure the bill is enforced.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“They host thousands of servers, computer storage, networks, and then they have these giant cooling systems that also require massive amounts of energy as well. Massive hyperscale data centers can continuously consume over 100 megawatts, with the largest facilities consuming over 650 megawatts. That is comparable to the energy use of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of homes. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, right now data centers consume about 4.4 percent of all electricity in America, but they predict that that will go up to 12 percent of the total electricity consumption in America by just 2028. Mr. Speaker, hyperscale data centers are being constructed by the wealthiest Big Tech corporations on the planet.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“They are not alone because across the country, electricity prices are up on average 15 percent, but much higher in many places. But now there is a new stressor: massive hyperscale data centers are connecting to the grid. These are energy hogs. They are massive. The descriptors know no end. When a data center or other large load comes online, it can trigger massive upgrades--new power plants, transmission lines, local transformers--and typically those costs are passed along to ratepayers, and that is not fair. Our neighbors should not be stuck paying for the energy infrastructure of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Ratepayer Protection Act says that the data center pays for its own upgrades, not the rest of us. These monumental hyperscale data centers can span hundreds of thousands of square feet.”
House of Representatives15 September 2026Source ↗
“Our adversaries continue to target our communications systems, so Congress must take steps now to protect our communications, telecommunications infrastructure and strengthen our national security to keep Americans safe. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the bill.”
House of Representatives28 April 2025Source ↗
“The report found that the widespread adoption of certain People's Republic of China-developed technologies in the United States poses a significant risk to national security and threatens long-term U.S. technological competitiveness. Our committee report recommended that we enact the FACT Act to shine a light on companies connected to foreign adversarial governments like the CCP and to ensure greater accountability and transparency in our critical communications networks. Our bill passed the House unanimously by voice vote in the last Congress, but it didn't quite get over the finish line. We really have no more time to wait, Mr. Speaker.”
House of Representatives28 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Dingell for yielding the time, and I thank Chairman Bilirakis for moving the bill forward to the floor today. I rise in strong support of H.R. 906, the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act. This bill would require the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, to publish a public list of entities with ties to foreign adversarial governments, such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, especially if they have a license or authorization that is tied to our communications networks. Along with Representative Wittman, I serve on the bipartisan Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Last Congress, the committee released a bipartisan report on maintaining America's economic and national security interests.”
House of Representatives28 April 2025Source ↗
“The cost of living right now is very high, and it is just not fair to allow this kind of unfair behavior to continue. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues in the House to pass the Hotel Fees Transparency Act. It will be a win for families and consumers. It is about fairness, transparency, and allowing hardworking families to focus on making memories together and not worrying about surprise charges and costs. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote.”
House of Representatives28 April 2025Source ↗
“This piece of legislation will prohibit that kind of unfair or misleading price advertising for hotels and rentals. It will require accurate price listings that must include all mandatory and resort fees. I have to say that it is a privilege to represent the State of Florida in the Congress, and I know my friend, Mr. Bilirakis, will agree. We enjoy welcoming visitors from all across the Nation and all across the globe to Florida for their vacations. Unfortunately--it is not just in Florida--but sometimes visitors arrive and are surprised by a lot of these resort fees and add-ons that were not part of the bargain. That is not fair. Consumers deserve to see upfront prices when they plan their budgets and vacations. They shouldn't have to play a guessing game when planning a trip about what the final cost of their vacation will be.”
House of Representatives28 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone for yielding the time, and I thank Chairman Bilirakis for his partnership in this endeavor, as well. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1479, the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, to help families save money and to ensure that their hard-earned vacations go as planned. I thank Representatives Kim, Mullin, and Fry for partnering with me on this bipartisan legislation that will increase cost transparency for hotels, motels, and short-term rentals. Mr. Speaker, have you ever planned a vacation and when you searched online, you thought you found a great deal at a hotel or a short-term rental, but then you were surprised at check-in or check-out that there were a lot of surprise fees added on?”
House of Representatives28 April 2025Source ↗