Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Senator Katie Brett is joining us now. Senator, good morning,
good to hear from you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Yeah, good morning, dude. You're always happy to come on. Obviously,
it's a busy week here in DC. We got the
Epstein discharge petition from the House that passed unanimously here
headed to President Trump's desk. We've got some appropriations bills
we're going to be putting on the floor, and you know,
we have the Crown Princeton Town all kinds of things.
(00:26):
So you know, we're working hard up here for sure,
but I know you'll have a lot going on down
there in Alabama as well.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
All right, let's talk about this data center. I've got
so many questions for you here. First of all, we
don't know who the developer is in all of this.
They're not doing anything to let us know about that.
I don't see a lot of transparency. But first of all,
Bessemer City Council is the one that approved all of this,
and they've also you know, you know, there's a non
disclosure agreement that has been signed by everybody, which to
(00:54):
me is like, well, what are you doing? Is the
Bestmer's City Council in way over their heads with this.
Should they be the entity that allows and approves something
this massive to take place in the state of Alabama.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, look, you know I've laid out my concerns. First,
I want to see the Northern belt Line finished. That project.
Obviously a lot has been invested in that. We're committed
to finishing that. And to me, what that does and
unlocks in northern and western Jefferson County amongst the entire
region up there is tremendous. You think about, you know,
(01:28):
what that does for first responders and being able to
get to emergencies, or what that does for future economic
development opportunities. It is significant, and you've got to take
a step back and say, number one, we need data centers.
We know that the race with China the next that
the race whoever wins the AI race, you know that
(01:48):
that is the ultimate race. And so we've got to
continue to stay focused on that and we've got to
maintain the lead we have on them. But I think
we have to be smart about how we do it,
and when you're looking at this, I think we have
we need to have some questions. Number one, you know,
how much of our current power sourcing is this going
to take? You know what is the demand of this
(02:09):
and what percentage of that is? What you know, what
we have available? I think you know, then will that
prevent us from having other opportunities? You know how many
jobs come with this versus are there other opportunities that
could be created along the belt line that would actually
create more jobs with with less power, Because you know,
once you take this and then you you take the
(02:31):
ability to deliver or pitch another economic development opportunity out
there if you're if you're not able to meet the
demands of that facility. So we got to think about
all of that, and we also, most importantly in my mind,
we have to think about affordability for Alabamians. We have
the highest power rates in the Southeast. And as I
am working diligently alongside President Trump to make sure that
(02:53):
we are rolling back regulation on energy, that we are
creating a pathway for not just energy and penance, but
energy dominance. I want to make sure that that cost savings,
that unlocking that potential that that has passed down to
the consumer. And so I've been told that this will
not raise rates. I have questions about is that for
(03:14):
the long term and how is that the case? And
I think that we as citizens in general deserve answers
to those things. And I certainly want to make sure
that the people of Bessemer aren't saddled with and the
people of Alabama aren't saddled with higher rates as a
result of this when I want to make sure, you know,
I want our rates to be lower than our neighbors,
(03:35):
not higher. And I think that this really crystallizes the
question encompassing all of those things. And so again understand
the importance of data centers. I think we need to
have them, but we have to really think about the
opportunity cost here and make sure that we're making a
smart decision for the people of Bessemer, Jefferson County and
(03:56):
the people of our great state.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Well, who's driving the ship on this thing here, because
there's a community uproar right now about this whole thing,
from environmental issues to the cost of our power bills
going up to who's doing the development? I mean, was
there a bid going on? Who's going to be the developer?
Why won't they tell us who the developer is? What's
what this nda that the Bestmer City Council is thrown
around a lot of unanswered questions that I'm not sure well,
(04:20):
and I hope, I hope.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
The best of the city council is thoughtful about all
of these things. Look and I want Lucal and state
leaders to engage in this in a meaningful way. I
think you've got to ask these kinds of questions because
at the end of the day, this is about affordability,
both the cost of people's power bills, you know, the
power rates that come out, and also it's the opportunity
(04:43):
cost in the future, and so you've got to make
sure you're not making a quick decision that seems good
in the moment. And I've also been told that this
will take, you know, several years to actually develop and
then you're not losing opportunity cost now and then the
future as a result. So I hope that they really
dig in. I hope the community continues to answer questions,
(05:06):
and also I hope we get some answers about how
are we going to get our rates down and how
are we going to make sure that we lead in
that way putting more money back in people's pockets and
giving them a greater opportunity to thrive. Because listen, I'm
getting calls to my office. During you know, during the shutdown,
people worried they can't pay their power bill, worried they
can't they can't make ends meet. And so I think
(05:27):
we've got to be honest, particularly as leaders, about how
we crystallize this, how we create opportunity, but also we're
making sure that we're looking at affordability. And I hope
that those are the questions that the people in the
community you're asking, those are certainly the questions that I'm
looking for answers to as well. Well.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
There's also no guarantee the jobs are going to be
for locals and not connected to the project. I mean,
what about three hundred Chinese people coming in for these jobs?
And secondly, I think Congress really ought to pass laws
to make data centers build their own energy center separate
from the regular grid.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Well right, and I mean how much you have to
take a look. We have data centers throughout the state. Again,
it's important that we lead in this race. But we've
got to make sure that every day Alabamians aren't footing
the bill for this, and you know, I think that
that's important. And you just mentioned another thing about people
coming in from other countries. Look There's been a lot
of conversation right now this is this is separate from this,
(06:19):
but about H one B visas and you know, look,
I want to make sure that we are not we
don't have a system that allows for abuse and allows
for jobs to be taken away from talented and eager Americans.
You know, what we saw in that sixty minutes piece
was that many Americans were actually having to train the
(06:40):
new foreign workers that were coming in. Look, we value
foreign workers, we understand, we understand that relationship and partnership.
But what I don't want to see is this program
continue to be abused in a way that drives down
wages for Americans, that takes away employment opportunityies, and that
(07:01):
that ultimately, you know, makes life unaffordable for Americans. When
we have talented Americans, people who are working to be educated,
we want to see them have this chance for innovation
and work and growth in our country. And so I
think at the very least, that program, the H one
B VS program, certainly needs to be taken a look
at and let's let's let's have some reforms.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Very good, Well, Katie, I appreciate you this morning and
roll Tide, thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So much roll tide, rollside, all right
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Senator Katie Britt
Senator Katie Brett is joining us now. Senator, good morning,
good to hear from you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Yeah, good morning, dude. You're always happy to come on. Obviously,
it's a busy week here in DC. We got the
Epstein discharge petition from the House that passed unanimously here
headed to President Trump's desk. We've got some appropriations bills
we're going to be putting on the floor, and you know,
we have the Crown Princeton Town all kinds of things.
(00:26):
So you know, we're working hard up here for sure,
but I know you'll have a lot going on down
there in Alabama as well.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
All right, let's talk about this data center. I've got
so many questions for you here. First of all, we
don't know who the developer is in all of this.
They're not doing anything to let us know about that.
I don't see a lot of transparency. But first of all,
Bessemer City Council is the one that approved all of this,
and they've also you know, you know, there's a non
disclosure agreement that has been signed by everybody, which to
(00:54):
me is like, well, what are you doing? Is the
Bestmer's City Council in way over their heads with this.
Should they be the entity that allows and approves something
this massive to take place in the state of Alabama.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, look, you know I've laid out my concerns. First,
I want to see the Northern belt Line finished. That project.
Obviously a lot has been invested in that. We're committed
to finishing that. And to me, what that does and
unlocks in northern and western Jefferson County amongst the entire
region up there is tremendous. You think about, you know,
(01:28):
what that does for first responders and being able to
get to emergencies, or what that does for future economic
development opportunities. It is significant, and you've got to take
a step back and say, number one, we need data centers.
We know that the race with China the next that
the race whoever wins the AI race, you know that
(01:48):
that is the ultimate race. And so we've got to
continue to stay focused on that and we've got to
maintain the lead we have on them. But I think
we have to be smart about how we do it,
and when you're looking at this, I think we have
we need to have some questions. Number one, you know,
how much of our current power sourcing is this going
to take? You know what is the demand of this
(02:09):
and what percentage of that is? What you know, what
we have available? I think you know, then will that
prevent us from having other opportunities? You know how many
jobs come with this versus are there other opportunities that
could be created along the belt line that would actually
create more jobs with with less power, Because you know,
once you take this and then you you take the
(02:31):
ability to deliver or pitch another economic development opportunity out
there if you're if you're not able to meet the
demands of that facility. So we got to think about
all of that, and we also, most importantly in my mind,
we have to think about affordability for Alabamians. We have
the highest power rates in the Southeast. And as I
am working diligently alongside President Trump to make sure that
(02:53):
we are rolling back regulation on energy, that we are
creating a pathway for not just energy and penance, but
energy dominance. I want to make sure that that cost savings,
that unlocking that potential that that has passed down to
the consumer. And so I've been told that this will
not raise rates. I have questions about is that for
(03:14):
the long term and how is that the case? And
I think that we as citizens in general deserve answers
to those things. And I certainly want to make sure
that the people of Bessemer aren't saddled with and the
people of Alabama aren't saddled with higher rates as a
result of this when I want to make sure, you know,
I want our rates to be lower than our neighbors,
(03:35):
not higher. And I think that this really crystallizes the
question encompassing all of those things. And so again understand
the importance of data centers. I think we need to
have them, but we have to really think about the
opportunity cost here and make sure that we're making a
smart decision for the people of Bessemer, Jefferson County and
(03:56):
the people of our great state.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Well, who's driving the ship on this thing here, because
there's a community uproar right now about this whole thing,
from environmental issues to the cost of our power bills
going up to who's doing the development? I mean, was
there a bid going on? Who's going to be the developer?
Why won't they tell us who the developer is? What's
what this nda that the Bestmer City Council is thrown
around a lot of unanswered questions that I'm not sure well,
(04:20):
and I hope, I hope.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
The best of the city council is thoughtful about all
of these things. Look and I want Lucal and state
leaders to engage in this in a meaningful way. I
think you've got to ask these kinds of questions because
at the end of the day, this is about affordability,
both the cost of people's power bills, you know, the
power rates that come out, and also it's the opportunity
(04:43):
cost in the future, and so you've got to make
sure you're not making a quick decision that seems good
in the moment. And I've also been told that this
will take, you know, several years to actually develop and
then you're not losing opportunity cost now and then the
future as a result. So I hope that they really
dig in. I hope the community continues to answer questions,
(05:06):
and also I hope we get some answers about how
are we going to get our rates down and how
are we going to make sure that we lead in
that way putting more money back in people's pockets and
giving them a greater opportunity to thrive. Because listen, I'm
getting calls to my office. During you know, during the shutdown,
people worried they can't pay their power bill, worried they
can't they can't make ends meet. And so I think
(05:27):
we've got to be honest, particularly as leaders, about how
we crystallize this, how we create opportunity, but also we're
making sure that we're looking at affordability. And I hope
that those are the questions that the people in the
community you're asking, those are certainly the questions that I'm
looking for answers to as well. Well.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
There's also no guarantee the jobs are going to be
for locals and not connected to the project. I mean,
what about three hundred Chinese people coming in for these jobs?
And secondly, I think Congress really ought to pass laws
to make data centers build their own energy center separate
from the regular grid.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Well right, and I mean how much you have to
take a look. We have data centers throughout the state. Again,
it's important that we lead in this race. But we've
got to make sure that every day Alabamians aren't footing
the bill for this, and you know, I think that
that's important. And you just mentioned another thing about people
coming in from other countries. Look There's been a lot
of conversation right now this is this is separate from this,
(06:19):
but about H one B visas and you know, look,
I want to make sure that we are not we
don't have a system that allows for abuse and allows
for jobs to be taken away from talented and eager Americans.
You know, what we saw in that sixty minutes piece
was that many Americans were actually having to train the
(06:40):
new foreign workers that were coming in. Look, we value
foreign workers, we understand, we understand that relationship and partnership.
But what I don't want to see is this program
continue to be abused in a way that drives down
wages for Americans, that takes away employment opportunityies, and that
(07:01):
that ultimately, you know, makes life unaffordable for Americans. When
we have talented Americans, people who are working to be educated,
we want to see them have this chance for innovation
and work and growth in our country. And so I
think at the very least, that program, the H one
B VS program, certainly needs to be taken a look
at and let's let's let's have some reforms.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Very good, Well, Katie, I appreciate you this morning and
roll Tide, thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So much roll tide, rollside, all right
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Senator Katie Britt
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