As the Senate races to conclude its business today before the midterm election recess, Senate Democrats blocked a bill sponsored by vulnerable GOP incumbent Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) to restrict members of Congress from buying any new stocks of publicly traded companies, arguing the legislation didn’t go far enough to crack down on possible corruption. The Stop Insider Trading Act failed by a vote of 53-47. No Democrat voted in support of the measure. It needed 60 votes to advance on the Senate floor. It previously passed the House in July by a vote of 232-198 with the support of just 13 Democrats.
Senate Democrats have also blocked a bill that seeks to address data center electricity costs, calling it ineffective and “toothless,” though the legislation passed the House with significant bipartisan support. The Democrats did not provide the Ratepayer Protection Act with the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster, blocking it in a procedural vote on Wednesday, 57-43. Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff (Georgia), Raphael Warnock (Georgia), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire) and Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota) voted with Republicans in favor of the bill. Ossoff faces a tough Senate race in November, while Klobuchar is running for governor of Minnesota. The measure, which has been pushed in the Senate by vulnerable Republican Senator Jon Husted (Ohio), would force states to consider adopting standards to make tech companies pay for the additional electricity costs caused by their data centers. It does not actually force states to adopt these standards and could ultimately lead to no action, which is why its detractors are calling the legislation ineffective. Democrats have said the chamber should instead take up legislation that mandates that Big Tech cover the cost. The bill passed the House earlier this month 417-3.
Finally, Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling cleared a procedural hurdle for a final confirmation vote after the Senate closed debate on his nomination to permanently take the Labor Department’s top job. The chamber voted 53-47 in a procedural cloture vote to advance Sonderling.
