A provision added to the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill could put restrictions on data centers built on Defense Department land.

The US military in January said that it was considering pitches for private AI facilities on unused land at Fort Hood, Fort Bragg, Fort Bliss, and Dugway Proving Ground. In March, it announced that Carlyle would build a data center at Fort Bliss, Texas, and CyrusOne at Dugway, Utah.

The US Air Force has also opened up three sites in the US for potential development.

Representative Cory Mills (R-Fla.) has put forward a provision that would prohibit companies from “installing or operating data facility equipment" that uses components that the Defense Department considers a national security risk.

“Honored to pass this amendment to protect our military installations from Chinese components being used in data centers on our installations,” Mills said. “This bill protects national security, promotes American businesses, and builds industry capability.”

But the Army has criticized the amendment, telling Federal News Network that it would create a “federal land penalty” with restrictions not found elsewhere. The Army said that it would create an “unworkable standard,” and “drive world-class commercial partners — and over $1.3 billion in private capital — away from Army land.”

This week, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) introduced a broader bill to ban the development of private data centers on Federal land altogether.