PRESS RELEASE
Nez Pledges to Introduce Legislation to Claw Back OBBBA Tax Breaks for Data Centers
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - Following news stories about the billions in tax breaks given to data centers amid devastating cuts to Arizona’s water supply, Jonathan Nez announced his pledge to introduce legislation clawing back the tax breaks as one of his first acts in Congress. Nez’s legislation would direct the billions in tax breaks Congressman Eli Crane and Congress gave to data centers in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act towards a working class tax cut and new technology that helps conserve our precious water.
“Working Arizonans struggling to afford the basics should be the ones getting tax breaks, not massive data centers that are raising our utility bills while making our water crisis even worse,” said Nez. “One of my first acts as Congressman will be to introduce a bill clawing back the billions in tax breaks Eli Crane and DC politicians gave to big data centers, selling Arizona out. I will use that money to invest in water conservation technologies and a working-class tax cut, the way it should be spent. My entire life I have fought to protect Arizona’s most precious resource, water, and I won’t ever stop.”
Former Navajo Nation President Nez spent his career working across the aisle, including with President Donald Trump, to protect Arizona water. His plan would protect the Arizona families, farmers, and ranchers who depend on every drop to survive.
Technology should be used to protect Arizona’s water, not drain even more of it. In Congress, Nez will introduce legislation clawing back billions of dollars in tax breaks for data centers in the OBBBA. He’ll demand strict rules protecting water and consumer utility costs for big data centers built across this country, while fighting for investments in technologies that help conserve Arizona’s water.
Crane’s OBBBA votes allowed water-draining data companies to hurt Americans. In 2025, Crane voted twice for the OBBBA, which Bloomberg reported would “significantly lower barriers” for hyperscale data centers that drive up energy bills, guzzle water, and pollute surrounding communities. The bill gives massive tax handouts to data center developers, paid for with more than a trillion dollars in cuts to critical healthcare and nutrition assistance programs.
The payoff for the industry was immediate. In the year after the OBBBA became law, the five largest hyperscalers – Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Oracle – set aside a combined $34 billion less for federal taxes and paid $20.6 billion less in cash income taxes than the year before, even as all five companies’ pretax income grew.
Amazon praised OBBBA because it “significantly decreased … cash taxes in 2025” and expected a similar effect in 2026. Similarly, Meta reported that OBBBA “reduced … U.S. federal cash tax payments.” Alphabet likewise credited the law for the immediate expensing and accelerated depreciation that boosted its 2025 cash flow.
SEE ALSO:
Environmental and Energy Study Institute: Data Centers and Water Consumption (6/25/25)
BDO USA: 4 Key OBBBA Provisions Data Centers Need to Know (3/30/26)
AZFamily: Arizona sees largest Colorado River cuts under new federal water deal (8/21/26)