Republican, U.S. Representative for Michigan's 7th district
Now: U.S. Representative, District 7 since 2025 verified October 12, 2026 · source (opens in a new tab)
On your ballot U.S. House, District 7, Michigan, In office (certified list (opens in a new tab), verified October 9, 2026)
Photo: House Creative Services, public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab), cropped.
Checked · How the record reads leaders · Report a change · Corrections
Of 12 statements on the record, 1 was for data centers, 4 raised concerns about data centers and 7 carry no label.
Labels are applied by the record's published rules: two readings of each statement, and a third that reads its source where the two differ. Every label sits beside its statement and its source, and any label can be challenged through Report a change, with the correction logged on the corrections page.
Position History: Chronological record of positions across sourced statements.
- · Raises concern · barrett.house.gov
- · Raises concern · Representative Tom Barrett | (.gov)
- · Raises concern · Representative Tom Barrett | (.gov)
- · Raises concern · barrett.house.gov
- · Supports · Yahoo
What they said
-
While Lawrence supports a full moratorium on data center construction, Barrett has said that he doesn’t think the federal government should be involved.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: October 16, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- newrepublic.com (opens in a new tab), national outlet
Archived copy: Wayback Machine (opens in a new tab).
-
Rep. Tom Barrett said the stripping away of local control took place in pursuit of a Green New Deal agenda in Lansing.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: October 9, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Heatmap News (opens in a new tab), trade press
-
Rep. Tom Barrett voted against subsidizing a data facility in Grand Rapids in 2015
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 26, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Yahoo (opens in a new tab), national outlet
Label rationale: No label: the words are not clearly the speaker's own. Both readings of the statement held it.
-
Barrett supported One Big Beautiful Bill Act which extended corporate tax benefits for AI companies including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Nvidia
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 26, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Yahoo (opens in a new tab), national outlet
Label rationale: No label: the words are not clearly the speaker's own. Both readings of the statement held it.
-
Barrett backed SPEED Act permitting bill that would reduce federal environmental reviews for data centers
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 26, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Yahoo (opens in a new tab), national outlet
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "Barrett backed SPEED Act permitting bill that would reduce federal environmental reviews for data centers".
-
Representative Tom Barrett, a Michigan Republican, introduced legislation aimed at protecting local authority over data center siting and preventing secrecy pledges.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 24, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- WBFF (opens in a new tab), news outlet
-
When serving in the Michigan House of Representatives, Barrett voted against legislation to give corporate welfare for data center construction and equipment purchases.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source. Label set by a tiebreak.
Where & When: August 20, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- barrett.house.gov (opens in a new tab), primary source
Archived copy: Wayback Machine (opens in a new tab).
Label rationale: A tiebreak: the two first readings differed, and a third reading of the statement and its source decided. The words that set it: "he voted against legislation his own party passed to give corporate welfare for data center construction and equipment purchases".
-
Rep. Tom Barrett is leading the No Data Center NDAs Act to prohibit members of Congress from signing non disclosure agreements about data centers
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 20, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Representative Tom Barrett | (.gov) (opens in a new tab), primary source
- The Detroit News (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Archived copy: Wayback Machine (opens in a new tab).
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "leading the No Data Center NDAs Act to prohibit members of Congress from signing non disclosure agreements about data centers".
-
Rep. Tom Barrett is leading the Protecting Local Control of Data Centers Act to prohibit federal agencies from overriding local authority to reject data centers
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 20, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Representative Tom Barrett | (.gov) (opens in a new tab), primary source
Archived copy: Wayback Machine (opens in a new tab).
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "prohibit federal agencies from overriding local authority to reject data centers".
-
Rep. Tom Barrett introduced legislation Aug. 20 to bar federal agencies from interfering in local decision making on data center siting and regulation
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 20, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- The Detroit News (opens in a new tab), local outlet
-
Barrett stated: 'Families in my district are rightly concerned about the effect data centers could have on their utility bills, as well as the land and water in their neighborhood.'
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 20, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- barrett.house.gov (opens in a new tab), primary source
Archived copy: Wayback Machine (opens in a new tab).
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "Families in my district are rightly concerned about the effect data centers could have on their utility bills, as well as the land and water".
-
Tom Barrett, Congressman from Charlotte, Michigan, is drafting legislation to prohibit federal agencies from overriding local control for data center zoning
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: August 18, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- The Detroit News (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Where we looked
The record last searched for Tom Barrett's words on October 21, 2026.
How they voted
1 vote on data center measures: 0 in favor of data centers, 1 against.
| Measure | Roll call | What they did |
|---|---|---|
| H.R. 9340: Ratepayer Protection Act | U.S. House of Representatives, September 16, 2026 | Voted yes on a measure that limited data centers against |
Bill data from LegiScan (opens in a new tab), licensed CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab). The record chooses the bills, writes each stage in its own words and cites the legislature's own page for every bill.
Others in this race
- William Lawrence Democratic · U.S. House, District 7 · the race page
- Shane Dedrick Green Party · U.S. House, District 7 · the race page
- Felix Thibodeau Working Class Party · U.S. House, District 7 · the race page
Something missing?
Know a sourced statement by Tom Barrett on data centers that is not here? Send the link. It goes to the record's inbox as a card routed to this person and publishes only after it is read against its source.
Are you Tom Barrett or on the campaign? Ask for a correction or send a statement, or email corrections@datacenterrecord.org.
Data Center Record, "Public statements by Tom Barrett", https://datacenterrecord.org/speakers/tom-barrett, last verified October 21, 2026.
Reusing this page
The structured rows are CC BY-NC 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
Last verified: October 12, 2026.