S. 4214 explained · 119th Congress · Pending in Congress
Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act
Cosponsors: none · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-09
Introduced: 2026-03-25
Latest action (2026-03-25): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
What S. 4214 does, in plain terms
Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act This bill prohibits building or upgrading artificial intelligence (AI) data centers until laws regulating AI and AI data centers are enacted. It also restricts the export of AI-related computing hardware to countries without similar laws in effect. Specifically, no AI data center may be constructed or upgraded until laws are enacted (1) subjecting AI products to prerelease federal review and approval for safety and effectiveness, and (2) ensuring that AI-related economic gains benefit workers and the people of the United States (including by preventing AI-related job loss). Further, with respect to AI data centers built or upgraded after the moratorium ends, these laws must ensure such centers do not increase consumers’ utility bills and do not harm the environment; affected communities are empowered to approve or reject construction or upgrades; such centers create union jobs subject to labor standards; and no government subsidy is provided for the construction, upgrade, or operation of such centers. Under the bill, the term AI data center includes collocated structures and equipment under common ownership or control used for AI development or operation that meet certain power and design specifications. Additionally, the Department of Commerce must prohibit the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of specified computing hardware for AI-related use to any country that does not have comparable laws or regulations in effect. Finally, the Department of Energy must periodically report on AI data centers’ funding sources, energy and water use, and labor.
Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.
Constitution Index
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S. 4214 has not been graded yet. New measures with an official summary are graded daily under the published rubric.
The Framers
“Founders’ Verdict”
Confidence 0.50
Archived SI output (machine-generated)No editorial review recorded. This historical SI verdict was machine-generated by software and predates the review desk; check it against the official bill text.
Synthesis
2-2 split: Hamilton and Marshall deem CONSTITUTIONAL under Commerce Clause (Art. I §8 Cl.3) if interstate nexus; Madison and Jefferson deem UNCONSTITUTIONAL as reserved to states.
The proposed moratorium on artificial intelligence data centers falls within the enumerated powers of Congress to regulate commerce among the several states and to promote the progress of science and useful arts. Data centers facilitating artificial intelligence necessarily engage in interstate commerce through the transmission of data, energy consumption, and economic activities spanning state lines, akin to the commercial intercourse Hamilton described as vital to national union. Such regulation, including temporary restraints for public exigency, is a legitimate exercise of federal authorit…
A federal moratorium on artificial intelligence data centers exceeds the enumerated powers of Congress, intruding upon the reserved rights of the States and the people to regulate local industries, commerce within their borders, and private property use. Such a prohibition is not among the specific grants in Article I, Section 8, particularly not under the commerce power which is limited to interstate trade, nor does it serve a purpose like defense or post roads. The Tenth Amendment reserves all such undelegated powers to the States or the people, preserving individual liberty from centralized…
The proposed Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act exceeds the enumerated powers of Congress, as there is no provision in the Constitution granting authority to impose a federal moratorium on the construction or operation of private data centers, which pertain to local land use, infrastructure, and economic activities properly reserved to the States. Such a measure intrudes upon the sphere of State sovereignty, where powers not delegated to the federal government remain. This risks consolidating undue authority in the national legislature, contrary to the careful balance designed …
The proposed Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act falls within the enumerated powers of Congress to regulate commerce among the several states and with foreign nations, as data centers integral to artificial intelligence facilitate the transmission of intelligence across state lines and international boundaries, constituting commerce subject to federal authority. Such a temporary restraint is a legitimate exercise of that power, and where the end is constitutional, the means, including a moratorium, are implied as necessary and proper to effectuate it, provided they do not exceed…
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