Posted on 05/19/2023 12:20:01 PM PDT by Twotone
Bipartisan legislation is being introduced in the House and Senate to keep AM radio from being removed from electric vehicles amid concerns the electric motors interfere with its frequency.
The AM for Every Vehicle Act has the support of Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-N.J.), Rob Menendez (D-N.J.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). In the Senate, Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex).
The legislation would "direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule that requires automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without a separate or additional payment, fee, or surcharge," according to Gottheimer's office.
"The importance of AM radio during large-scale emergencies cannot be underestimated, and it has, without a doubt and without interruption, saved lives and kept our communities informed," he said.
"When the cell phone runs out, the internet gets cut off, or the television doesn’t work because of no electricity or power to your house, you can still turn on your AM radio. I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan AM for Every Vehicle Act in the House to ensure that all auto manufacturers include AM radio in their vehicles to protect public safety."
Westerman said the bill protections AM broadcast radio by "ensuring that automakers continue providing AM radio in new vehicles, cannot impose unnecessary fees or surcharges that would prevent Americans from accessing these vital services in their vehicles, and clearly indicate if any vehicle lacks AM radio capability."
Cruz called on both chambers to promptly pass the bill.
"Congress should act swiftly to pass this bill so Americans retain access to news, music, talk, and emergency alerts on the public airwaves," he said. "I’m glad to work with Senator Markey on this bipartisan legislation to ensure carmakers do not limit Texans’ access to radio in their vehicles."
The bill follows news coverage this weekend about AM being removed, and some partisan speculation the move being intended to limit conservative talk radio shows, most of which having stations on the AM band.
Gottheimer specifically called out Tesla CEO Elon Musk for removing AM radio from new Tesla vehicles.
“I would think that if Elon Musk has enough money to buy Twitter and send rockets to space, he can afford to include AM radio in his Teslas. Instead, Elon Musk and Tesla and other car manufacturers are putting public safety and emergency response at risk,” he said.
In a lot of major urban areas a good number of AM Stations are geared towards black and Latin Americans and are owned by minority companies
No
Is audience or the ratings for AM radio stations dropping in recent decades?
Is part of this, that we are seeing technological change, what with satellite radio, HD radio, internet radio?
Some younger people seem not to listen to radio stations at all.
Clearchannel ie Iheartmedia which is the biggest network is uberwoke and has gone out of its way to purge conservative hosts even at the expense of dropping ratings.
If the EVs produce RF noise they aren’t properly designed. There are rules in place regarding that sort of thing.
congress shouldn’t be involved... free market options are.
Rush and baseball games were the only reason i ever turned AM on. I understand it is needed for civil defense/weather announcements as well. I listen to Sirius XM only because there are no commercials.
Why would congress even bother with this. IMO the type of person to buy an electric vehicle is not likely to listen to AM radio.
A silly bill from a silly Congress. Our country is burning and we're spending ourselves into bankruptcy, but we have time to worry about this. Idiots!
All we listen to is AM. Haven’t been on FM in decades.
If only someone with a great knowledge of law could look up the legalities of a Device causing Radio interference. I have heard that EV radio inference is not limited to just that vehicle, but to others around it as well. They are literally a Radio frequency transmitter.
I thought it was illegal.
The other day, someone mentioned Travelers’ information Stations (AKA Highway Advisory Radio). As I understand that’s under an FCC regulation.
The left is against AM because that’s where the conservative talk shows broadcast. There are virtually no left-wing talk shows. There used to be a few but they sucked so badly, no one listened to them.
Really?
There have been a lot of mergers and consolidations in the radio business in recent years, and I have not kept up with all the changes.
There are still a few nationally syndicated conservative hosts, aren’t there? Such as the guys who took over Rush’s time slot? Then there’s Salem Radio network, with Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Sebastian Gorka and others.
I don’t know who syndicates Mark Levin.
But, if they want to silence conservatives, buying the radio stations and not caring if they lose ratings would do the trick.
My husband had to install a radio in his one of his first cars. He also installed seat belts, which were optional back then.
Retards who don’t understand how radios work near big electric motors.
It’s not about talk radio. It’s about interference. And weight.
There are certainly lots of things they ought to be acting on. But this one isn’t trivial. Conservative talk radio is on AM. Syrius has done its best to block conservatives. I think we have to act to keep these airwaves available.
Back around the time when you could buy a car without a radio, you could also buy a car without seatbelts.
Is there any way to work around that?
I can think of various kinds of radios necessary to the drivers of different vehicles.
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