Gabe Evans

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Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan bill with Representative Castor, the Ratepayer Protection Act. America is in a period of incredible growth. Manufacturing jobs are returning to our shores. We are investing in American energy again. We are leading the charge for technological innovation. With that growth, our demand for energy is also skyrocketing, and some people have very understandable reservations and questions about data centers. The future, however, is binary: Either we build out our power systems to meet that demand, or we become dependent on other countries, like Communist China, for our daily needs, to include digital infrastructure that stores Americans' consumer data, financial data, healthcare data, and personal data. Hardworking Coloradans in my district do want economic growth, and they do not want the Chinese Communist Party handling their sensitive information. They want responsible development practices, but they see the need for massive investments in our energy systems and wonder who is going to pay for it. This bill answers that question very clearly. Large-load data centers must cover the full costs of any system upgrades they require, not families or small businesses. We cannot accelerate this growth on the backs of Americans who are working hard to pay their electric bills at the end of the month. The Ratepayer Protection Act also gives States and local communities a voice to implement these principles and protect community members from rising utility bills. This bill passed unanimously in the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is common sense. It keeps costs low for Americans and helps us build the energy backbone required to compete and win in the AI race and to keep Americans' digital information here in the United States, not in China. Madam Speaker, I am grateful it is being considered today. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.