Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip and Republican representative from Minnesota, has accused the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of abusing its emergency powers to fast-track a request from the Energy Information Agency (EIA). The request is aimed at making Bitcoin miners subject to a mandatory survey. Emmer has raised multiple questions about this "emergency survey" in a letter addressed to OMB Director Shalanda Young.
"Bitcoin mining firms play an integral role in maintaining and securing the Bitcoin network, which is an open and permissionless network upon which anyone can transact without the permission of intermediaries," said Emmer, according to X. "To its core, this technology embodies American values, but regardless, technology policy must be politically neutral. Bitcoin miners are simply computers that use electricity, a majority derived from sustainable sources in the United States, to validate and settle transactions on the blockchain. Just like data centers use electricity to maintain the internet at large, Bitcoin miners use electricity to maintain the Bitcoin network."
According to the copy of the letter shared on X, Emmer expressed his "deep concern" over OMB's use of its emergency powers to expedite EIA's request. He argued that these powers were designed for use against threats to public safety and asserted that "Bitcoin miners do not present a threat to public safety." Emmer pointed out that while EIA claims political neutrality, it seems to be selectively targeting the digital asset industry over energy usage. He further stated that the examples EIA provided to justify OMB's emergency authority were "insufficient for the OMB to authorize the EIA to circumvent the Paperwork Reduction Act's outlined process for information collection, which requires public comment."
In his letter, Emmer posed several questions to Young. These included queries about why normal clearance procedures were bypassed and what criteria OMB used to determine an "emergency." He also questioned whether fast-tracking EIA's request was consistent with other expedited information-collection requests and if EIA disclosed how it intends to use collected data, likely containing proprietary information. Additionally, Emmer asked if OMB considered making the survey voluntary instead of mandatory and noted potential criminal penalties for non-compliance.
A 2021 study by ERCOT found that flexible load data centers like Bitcoin mining operations can actually decrease emissions. This occurs even when total electricity generation increases, because these centers can be turned off during high energy demand periods and act as buyers of last resort, consuming energy that would otherwise go wasted.
Emmer's political career includes several terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives before his election to Congress in 2015, as stated on his website. He is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and represents Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District.
