Leger Fernández Calls for Pause on Data Center Development, Unveils “No Blank Checks for Data Centers” Principles

SANTA FE, NM — Today, Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) unveiled her No Blank Checks for Data Centers Principles, a set of clear standards to protect New Mexico families, water, land, and local communities as companies seek to build massive data centers across the state. The Congresswoman called for a moratorium on new data center development in New Mexico until companies meet the principles she laid out.

“The role of government is to protect us from greedy corporations,” said Congresswoman Leger Fernández. "Data centers want our water, our land, and our power. Communities may want the jobs they could bring to New Mexico. But we will not give them a blank check. I will only support data centers that pay their own way, protect our precious water, create good-paying union jobs, use clean energy, and earn the support of the communities where they want to build. Data centers must work for New Mexico, not the other way around. Communities must know how much water and electricity these projects will use, who will pay for them, and what residents will receive in return. If a project cannot answer those questions, it should not move forward. Congress must act to regulate data centers with these principles in mind. We cannot let AI and data centers regulate themselves.”

The Congresswoman’s platform requires data centers to meet six principles:

No Blank Checks for Data Centers Principles

• Don’t hike up electric bills. Data centers must pay for their own electricity and infrastructure without passing their costs on to New Mexico families.
• Don’t negatively impact water resources in the area. 
• Use energy sources that meet New Mexico’s renewable energy and zero-carbon requirements.
• Create good-paying union jobs.
• Get community approval and do consultation before permitting and building.
• No taxpayer subsidies, projects must provide community benefits.

  “Our water. Our land. Our power. Our say,” said Leger Fernández. “Those are New Mexico’s terms.”   Leger Fernández also linked her data center standards to a broader call for federal oversight of artificial intelligence. In a post earlier this week, she said:    “Trump called AI concerns “a HOAX.” He said opponents of data centers “want to end up being backwards and poor.” No, Mr. President, Americans want Congress and you to do your job protecting humanity, protecting our utility bills, and protecting us from out-of-control, corrupt greed.   A principal role of government is to protect the American people. Safety must always be our first mandate. It is also the government’s job to protect the American people from unmitigated greed. The billionaires that you are listening to now would prefer the government stay on the sidelines. But the U.S. government knows how to regulate corporate greed and how to address new technologies that could destroy our world.   What we do now will matter. We cannot just let AI and data centers regulate themselves or depend on their goodwill to lower utility costs and limit the most destructive possibilities inherent in this rapidly evolving technology. We must let local communities have a say in what is built in their neighborhoods so they can protect their water, environment, and cost burdens.    But Congress must act. There must be a strong, enforceable national regulatory framework. We must have civil and criminal liability. We must protect the local and national financial interests of working families.   It is not a hoax, Mr. President. And we have a job to do.”