Just days after the reintroduction of a bill that would require carmakers to include AM radio in passenger vehicles, the bill cleared its first hurdle in Congress last week.
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the proposed AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act to the full Senate for passage. That mirrors the bill’s progress during the previous session of Congress.
Despite an especially partisan time in Washington, the vote came with a bipartisan majority reflecting the bill’s broad backing. The Senate version has been co-sponsored by 29 Republicans, 14 Democrats, and two independents.
Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) is among them, and he told his fellow lawmakers that the proposal would benefit Americans who depend on AM radio and public airwaves for access to news, music, talk, and emergency alerts.
Similar to the previous bill, the latest proposal (S. 315) requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring access to AM broadcast stations in motor vehicles.
If they don’t, carmakers could be fined. Before the effective date of the rule, manufacturers who do not include AM would be required to put a warning label on vehicles. And carmakers would be prohibited from charging extra for AM.
Under the bill, automakers would have had at least two years to comply with the rule, although some manufacturers that produce fewer than 40,000 passenger cars for sale in the U.S. would have at least four years to meet the requirement.
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