Editor\u2019s note: We are publishing a series of fact-checks of advertisements in the Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District race between incumbent Republican Congressman Rob Bresnahan of Dallas Twp. and Democratic challenger, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti. The election is key for both major parties\u2019 hopes of holding a House majority the next two years.<\/p>\n
The 30-second ad is paid for by Rob For PA, Bresnahan\u2019s official political campaign, and was approved by the candidate.<\/p>\n
Bresnahan, wearing a brown chore coat and with a typical Northeast Pennsylvania wooded area seen in the background, is the only voice heard throughout the ad.<\/p>\n
\u201cNortheastern Pennsylvania is our home,\u201d he says as the ad begins. \u201cBut to big data, we\u2019re just land and dollar signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bresnahan then mentions the fight residents of Archbald have been waging against several data center projects planned there and around Lackawanna County\u2019s Mid Valley, and a headline from a July article in The Times-Tribune flashes on the screen as he speaks. The headline reads: \u201cArchbald Residents Fighting Data Centers Get Win in Court.\u201d<\/p>\n
That, the incumbent said, is why he wrote a bill mandating developers seek and receive local approval before beginning construction on data centers. He added that the bill protects communities against legal fights from billion-dollar corporations. Bresnahan closes the ad with an insistence that local communities should get to decide where and whether data centers should be constructed within their borders.<\/p>\n
Key claim<\/p>\n
\u201cNo secret deals (with developers). No taxpayer handouts. Local control (over data center construction).\u201d<\/p>\n
Is it factual?<\/p>\n
It is true that Bresnahan introduced legislation he believes will help small communities in the district combat the spread of data centers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Titled the \u201cLocal Control Protection Act,\u201d<\/a> the bill:<\/p>\n Removes the authority of federal courts to hear legal challenges against a local government\u2019s decision to block or preclude a covered data center, as long as the decision was voted upon and made with documented findings. Bresnahan introduced the bill in June, and it was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on the Judiciary for consideration. It has not moved from there in the three months since.<\/p>\n Bresnahan critics have noted the congressman\u2019s previous more-friendly posture when it comes to data center development in the area. In 2025, he called data centers<\/a> \u201ccatalysts for economic growth and technological innovation for our region.\u201d<\/p>\n Bresnahan also holds stock in companies in position to profit from the industry\u2019s spread<\/a>. That includes between $19,005 and $110,000 worth of stock<\/a> in Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, Iron Mountain and SBA Communications. The first three operate large-scale data centers, while SBA has a subsidiary that operates some smaller, regional data center facilities.<\/p>\n Bresnahan maintains he doesn\u2019t personally trade his own stocks, a job he leaves to an independent third-party adviser.<\/p>\n \u201cFavoring local control over data center development does not make someone anti-investment,\u201d Bresnahan campaign spokesperson Samantha Bullock told CBS News. \u201cIt shows that they support the will of the people, and in fact it is important and responsible to consider the blue-collar jobs and economic development that might benefit a region like Northeastern Pennsylvania when addressing and legislating this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s note: We are publishing a series of fact-checks of advertisements in the Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District race…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[836,182,139,50,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-287599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-election","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBars federal agencies from issuing permits for data center construction or operation if the developer or owner is currently suing to challenge a local government\u2019s zoning denial.
\nForces developers of approved data centers seeking federal incentives to file legally enforceable community benefit agreements and hire local labor.<\/p>\n