A bipartisan pair of senators is proposing new federal support and reporting requirements for communities weighing the effects of data center development, as rapid growth in artificial intelligence fuels a national building boom and local concerns over energy and water use. The two bills from Sen. John Curtis, a Utah Republican, and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Delaware Democrat, were announced Thursday, Oct. 1. One would create a Department of Energy program to provide communities with technical expertise as they assess the potential costs and benefits of proposed data centers. The other would require federal reporting on environmental impacts from large data centers that consume at least 50 megawatts of power. “Americans are rightly skeptical when a large company tells them not to worry about the impacts of a new data center in their community,” Curtis said in a statement. He said greater transparency is the way to address that distrust. Blunt Rochester said residents have legitimate concerns about data centers’ energy and water use, and that communities should have a say in how projects affect their quality of life. The proposals come amid disputes over who should bear the costs of the facilities’ power infrastructure. Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a House-passed measure, the Ratepayer Protection Act, from advancing to President Donald Trump. Democrats argued it merely encouraged technology companies to pay for data center infrastructure without ensuring that costs would not be passed on to consumers. Curtis and Blunt Rochester’s bills focus on information and technical assistance, rather than requiring data center operators to cover infrastructure expenses or limiting resulting costs to ratepayers. Their prospects in the current Congress are uncertain, though bipartisan backing could help their chances. The senators, both members of the Senate Commerce Committee, have also asked committee Chair Ted Cruz to hold hearings and forums on risks associated with rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. They had not received a response to that request, according to the senators’ announcement.