Congressman Ben Cline and Democratic candidate Beth Macy agree that we need a moratorium on data center construction. Virginia leads in expansion of data centers, which use enormous amounts of water and electricity.
Some localities have made non-disclosure agreements with data centers, keeping permitting conditions secret. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger banned NDAs between data centers and state agencies, and wants to limit the centers’ impacts.
Beth Macy opposes data centers in Botetourt County and Roanoke County.
Cline’s Sept. 23 newsletter highlighted his vote for the Ratepayer Protection Act to limit environmental and economic impacts of data centers.
The Senate defeated this bill on Sept. 30. Did Ben know in advance that the bill would fail? Was the newsletter deliberately misleading?
Cline’s record is pro-data center. He supported Trump’s Big [Ugly] Budget Bill in 2025. Data centers benefit from industrial development provisions in this law.
In the General Assembly, Cline voted with the majority in 2008, 2010 and 2016 for data center tax breaks.
What is Ben Cline’s real position? Voters must decide.
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