What Happened?

If you’re still waiting on fast internet in a rural area, or a giant data center is going up near you, Verizon is lobbying on bills that touch both. The company reported $2.82 million in lobbying costs for its own staff from July through September, down from $3.05 million in the spring, according to its federal lobbying report and a Legis1 review of the filing. ​

The report lists dozens of bills on broadband, spectrum, online safety and artificial intelligence (AI), plus tax issues, but it doesn’t say whether Verizon supports or opposes them. Twenty-one outside firms also reported a combined $985,000 from Verizon for the quarter, and the company’s own total may include some of those payments. Federal rules round these figures to the nearest $10,000.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Two of those bills could change things close to home:

  • Rural broadband: The Rural Broadband Window of Opportunity Act, from Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), would make the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) handle broadband projects first in places with the shortest building seasons.
  • Data centers: The Data Center Tax Accountability and Disclosure Act, from Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), would let large AI data centers keep a tax break for writing off equipment costs right away only if they meet top green-building standards, and would make them publicly report their energy and water use, ARLnow reported.

Verizon’s report also lists the Rural Broadband Protection Act, a version of which became law May 11. It requires the FCC to start writing rules within 180 days to screen companies that get federal money to build rural networks, making them show they can actually build those networks and deliver service.

Both Sides, Now

Supporters of Warner’s bill say data center growth is hurting communities. “Virginians, and people across the country, are rightfully fed up with data centers,” Michael Town of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters said, arguing they raise energy costs and strain water supplies, according to the group’s statement. Warner has argued that voluntary promises from data center companies haven’t been enough, according to Legis1.

The Tax Foundation, a tax policy research group, opposes the bill. Its analysts estimated the tax change would bring in about $29.9 billion from 2027 through 2036, but argued in an August analysis that it could push AI investment overseas and would mostly shift when taxes are paid rather than raise money for good.

What Happens Next?

Warner’s bill has been with the Senate Finance Committee since he introduced it July 21, and Bergman’s bill has been in the House Energy and Commerce Committee since January 2025. The FCC’s deadline to start the rural broadband screening rules falls Saturday, Nov. 7, and Verizon’s next lobbying report is due Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2027.

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