Energy Department helps towns learn about data center projects.
S. 5645 — Data Center Community Empowerment Act of 2026 · Filed by John Curtis (R-UT) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Sep 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill tells the Secretary of Energy to start a program. The program gives state, local, and tribal governments facts about data centers. It covers energy use, water, roads and pipes, and money. The program makes a plain guide for local leaders. The Secretary can look at a data center company's papers if a town asks. The Secretary cannot say yes or no to any project.
Who it affects
Towns and local leaders get federal help to learn about data center projects. Data center companies know the government can look at their papers. People in areas where data centers might be built can see this help.
One thing to notice
The bill does not say how much money the program gets. Towns can say no to the federal facts and approve projects anyway.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Sep 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 30, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Secretary of Energy — The head of the U.S. Department of Energy, a federal agency.
- tribal governments — Governments run by Native American nations and tribes.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (5,456 characters) on Oct 9, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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