US Representative Ro Khanna has introduced a House resolution calling for a "Data Center Bill of Rights" to protect local communities' ability to reject data centre projects being built near their homes. The move follows growing state-level pushback against rapid data centre expansion, including a one-year moratorium in New York, and comes as the federal government has moved to exempt data centres from environmental laws and limit states' power to regulate them.

The resolution proposes that communities be allowed to reject projects through a transparent local process, ban data centres from residential areas, and keep them at least 2,500 feet from homes, schools, childcare facilities, hospitals and nursing homes. It also calls for residents to be able to demand transparency from operators, block related electricity rate changes, and require the use of clean energy. The document is a non-binding outline rather than actual legislation, but highlights concerns such as pollution from backup generators and turbines, and projections that AI data centres could consume up to 32 billion gallons of water annually by 2028.