A panel of U.S. House lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would force automakers to install AM radio in all new cars.
The measure, titled the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, advanced through the House Committee on Energy and Commerce with broad bipartisan support. The only lawmaker to express outspoken opposition was Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Michigan.
“I feel like I’m taking crazy pills,” James said during the committee meeting. “We’re putting an unfunded, unnecessary mandate for a problem that doesn’t exist. This is exactly why people hate Washington.”
Republican and Democratic lawmakers from both the House and Senate have advocated since early 2023 for a requirement that automakers keep AM radio in all new vehicles, especially as some companies — including Tesla Inc., Volkswagen AG, Volvo Cars and BMW AG — are eliminating the frequency from electric vehicles because battery motors interfere with signals.
Ford Motor Co. previously had plans to exclude AM radio from all new vehicles but reversed course after opposition from the public and policymakers.
Advocates for AM radio have said it is crucial for reaching people during weather emergencies and holds a special place in American culture as a longtime home for sports broadcasts and conservative talk shows.
James said the safety concern is overblown thanks to new developments in emergency preparedness.
“The Emergency Alert System has never been more robust. The Integrated Public Alert Warning System, IPAWS, pushes alerts through — in addition to AM radio — through digital AM/FM radio, internet-based radio, satellite radio, cellular networks,” he said.
James continued: “Following a test of the system last fall, 95% of Americans reported getting that alert via their cellphones. You know how many people got it on AM radio? One percent. Over 98% of new cars today already come with AM radio, and even if they were phased out from every single new vehicle today, it would take 30 years to have no AM radio. So what are we even doing here?”
The auto industry has also opposed the requirement, with one top lobbying group previously calling it a “mandate” that is “unnecessary and contrary to the principles of a free-market economy.”
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the industry’s leading voice for regulatory affairs, made that statement in a May 2023 letter to lawmakers.
The group also wrote: “New digital and satellite radio systems are also designed to provide the same alerts to a larger audience and over a broader geographic area, and excluding AM radios from vehicles does not mean drivers will be prevented from hearing AM radio altogether.
“Today, most vehicles are equipped with digital radio as a standard feature, and this technology allows authorities to tune the radio to the appropriate channel. Digital radios are also free-of-charge, more resistant to interference than AM reception, and better suited to mobile objects like vehicles.”
James unsuccessfully proposed an amendment Wednesday that would make the Department of Transportation reevaluate the AM radio requirement on an ongoing basis.
The committee’s ranking member, Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey, argued against the James amendment.
“The bill before us today is an example of the committee’s long history of coming together in a bipartisan manner to address issues facing our country,” he said.
“If at some point the evidence shows that AM radio and cars are no longer necessary,” Pallone added, “I’m confident that this committee can and will come together again to address that issue at the appropriate time.”
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