Senate Pushes College-Sports and Data-Center Bills Ahead of October Recess

In the Senate’s final week before a month-long recess, leaders are racing to advance two bipartisan measures. A vote on the Protect College Sports Act is scheduled for Monday, while a procedural vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act is set for Wednesday. The same week includes a meeting between Speaker Mike Johnson and AI executives on Tuesday, reflecting broader concerns about emerging technology.

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The bill, championed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), would create federal rules for compensating college athletes, limit transfers and mid-season coaching moves, and establish a five-year eligibility window. Provisions include caps on revenue sharing, a 5 percent fee limit for agents, scholarship guarantees for ten years after eligibility, and mandatory medical coverage for Division I athletes. Opposition has come from the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the AFL-CIO’s sports council, which argue the legislation falls short of addressing systemic inequities for Black athletes.

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Republican Sen. Jon Husted (Ohio) leads the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would encourage states to adopt standards that shift electricity costs of large data centers onto the companies that operate them. The bill does not compel states to regulate the facilities. Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich (New Mexico) blocked an earlier unanimous effort, calling the proposal “toothless” and unlikely to curb AI-driven data-center growth that could strain the grid. Sen.

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Sen. Cruz defended the college-sports bill, saying it enhances NCAA oversight, strengthens health-and-safety protections, and softens conference-realignment rules. Sen. Husted argued the data-center legislation enjoys broad support from the president, Congress, consumers, and the business community.

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• “The president wants it. House Democrats and Republicans want it. Consumers want it. The business community wants it,” — Republican Sen. Jon Husted

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• “The reflex of legislative bodies is to cover things up with red tape and in hyperregulation. If you do that, then you lose your edge, and that is a national security concern for the American people,” — Report. Speaker Mike Johnson

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