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12 GOP AGs Speak Up for AM Bill in Congress

A dozen Republican attorneys general sign endorsement letter

As the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 8449) nears a full House vote, Republican attorneys general in 12 states have expressed their support in a letter to congressional leadership.

Led by Florida’s Ashley Moody and Iowa’s Brenna Bird, the AGs sent their letter to majority and minority leaders of both houses of Congress, urging them to give the AM legislation priority. (There are 28 GOP attorneys general in total.)

The act would require the secretary of transportation to issue a rule mandating automakers to provide access to AM broadcast stations in their motor vehicles. It has received strong bipartisan support and has passed the House Commerce Committee. Its backers believe the bill would pass the Senate easily, so its fate in a full House vote now is critical.

The attorneys general highlighted the impact of Hurricane Helene, emphasizing AM radio’s vital role in North Carolina as a resource for emergency preparedness and public safety. Stations broadcast around the clock, they said, while power, cellular and internet infrastructure were severed.

“Each of our states experience natural disasters and other public safety emergencies,” they said in the letter. “While those disasters vary across our many communities, from hurricanes in Florida to tornadoes in Iowa, AM radio is the constant support network that provides life-saving information to our citizens.”

The letter also underscored AM’s importance in Emergency Alert System infrastructure, reiterating that most of the 77 Primary Entry Point stations in the National Public Warning System are AM signals and that those signals cover 90% of the U.S. population. The AGs also highlighted the greater distance AM signals typically travel compared with their FM counterparts.

[“How iHeart’s WWNC Has Covered Helene and Its Aftermath”]

They cited 2023 data saying about 47 million Americans listen to AM radio per week. The letter also referenced a letter sent last year by seven former FEMA leaders to Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the Department of Transportation. The former FEMA leaders characterized the absence of AM radio from cars as a “grave threat to future local, state, and federal disaster response and relief efforts.”

“That is why we were concerned to hear reports of car manufacturers deciding to stop including AM radios in automobiles,” the attorneys general concluded.

Other states represented in the letter are Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

(Read the letter from the 12 U.S. attorneys general to congressional leadership.)

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