Updated at 1:45pm Wednesday
On May 17, 2023, a House Member from New Jersey introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue a rule that requires all new motor vehicles to include AM radio accessibility, by law, as a standard in-dash entertainment system option. As of Monday, this bill, H.R. 3413, had 251 co-sponsors — including two new House Members who signed on May 14 — and companion legislation in the Senate that appears assured of passage.
One year later, that legislation is now history … depending on who you talk to. In a textbook example of how a bill becomes a law, a marked-up version of the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” is moving ahead, with a House of Representatives session scheduled for Thursday that’s designed to swiftly bring the new bill to a House vote and then win the Senate’s OK.
Introducing H.R. 8449, or “The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2024.” It is a result of a markup of the original legislation resulting from an April 30 House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, which took an up-close look at the proposal originally offered by Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) in its original form.
Gottheimer’s efforts after 12 months are now being advanced by senior Members of the House of Representatives — Florida Republican Gus Bilirakis and House Energy & Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.).
Both Bilirakis and Pallone were holdouts on H.R. 3413 and declined to become co-sponsors.
Now, it appears that their handiwork and tweaks for the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” make it a bill with a fast track to the White House for signage by President Biden.
The new effort starts at 10am on May 23 during a House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee markup session. This Subcommittee’s Chairman? Look no further than Bilirakis.
PASSING THE BATON
When RBR+TVBR first reported the emergence of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2024 on Tuesday afternoon, there was much confusion as to what Bilirakis and Pallone were presenting — at least to those outside of the federal government who aren’t wholly familiar with the ways Congress can work.
Communication from both the offices of Bilirakis and Pallone also proved to be cloudy. It was clear that this was not the same legislation as the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023 introduced by Gottheimer, which on May 10 added Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup and on May 14 saw Kelly Trent (R-Miss.) sign on as the latest co-sponsor.
Were the senior leaders in the House seeking to supplant Gottheimer’s bill with one of its own? No. That said, neither Bilirakis or Pallone acknowledged Gottheimer in their respective announcements regarding the “introduction” of the 2024 act. In typical Washington maneuvering, Pallone only spoke of AM radio’s importance during a crisis such as “Superstorm Sandy.” In a statement, Bilirakis played up the importance of AM radio in an emergency and how “rural and underserved Americans still enjoy listening to AM radio broadcasts for their diverse views.” Bilirakis’ district is largely comprised of small towns north of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area, including New Port Richey, Dade City, Brooksville, Crystal River and Inverness, Fla.
H.R. 8449 is a revised version of the bill introduced by Gottheimer, and Washington insiders explain that this is being done to advance the legislation, and prevent it from getting passed by as the 2024 election season heats up.
A source close to the matter also tells RBR+TVBR that the marked-up bill from Bilirakis and Pallone is also based on the U.S. Senate’s markup of its own legislation, in July 2023.
Importantly, the legislation continues one key goal: it directs the Department of Transportation to require automakers to include AM broadcast radio installed as standard equipment in new motor vehicles, ensuring access to AM broadcast stations, or digital audio AM stations, in every car at no additional cost.
But, how does this differ from the original language offered in H.R. 3413?
Specifically, the newly introduced AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2024 would:
- Direct the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission, to issue a rule that requires automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio devices as standard equipment in their vehicles in a way that is easily accessible for consumers, and without a separate or additional payment, fee, or surcharge, all while providing extra compliance time for small manufacturers
- Require any automaker that sells vehicles without access to AM broadcast radio before the effective date of the rule to clearly disclose to consumers that the vehicle lacks access to AM broadcast radio
- Direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the importance of AM radio as a communication technology during emergencies, whether a reliable alternative communication system exists for delivering emergency alerts, and consider the cost to drivers of receiving communications through an alternative system, and cost and time required to develop and implement an alternative.
While this sounds nearly identical to Gottheimer’s bill, one key proviso is put into question when one looks at the text in Gottheimer’s original legislation. The new bill introduced by Pallone and Bilirakis, which has yet to see its full text shared with the public, does not note in the information shared May 20 by the House Members whether or not the Department of Transportation will hold any authority to assess civil penalties against any vehicle manufacturer that fails to comply with the mandate.
A source close to the matter tells Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink that there will be enforcement of the legislation, and that this will not be eliminated from the new legislation.
The Bilirakis and Pallone-penned bill also appears to eliminate the language in the Gottheimer bill that gives the Justice Department authority to bring a civil action to enjoin a violation, based on side-by-side comparisons of the bills based on the information presently available.
There’s also language in the 2024 bill from Bilirakis and Pallone that says extra compliance time — undefined as to how long this would be — would be given to “small manufacturers.” This could therefore give companies such as Rivian more breathing room, and further dilute the objectives of the original H.R. 3413 after one year of discussions on Capitol Hill.
NAB APPRECIATES MOMENTUM BUILD
On Tuesday night, the NAB spoke, issuing a statement at 10:30pm Eastern that took a positive spin on the Capitol Hill maneuvering.
“The legislation introduced mirrors the draft legislative language that was the focus of that hearing and the legislative language that passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee last year,” it said, with the word “draft” the clear word one will now focus on when examining how Gottheimer’s bill has evolved.
NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt commented, “This builds on the momentum led by the original co-sponsors of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. With more than 310 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and Senate, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act demonstrates overwhelming support in Congress for the critical role of AM radio in America’s public safety infrastructure. The nation’s broadcasters are grateful for Congress’s continued commitment to AM radio as they work to ensure this bill is passed and enacted into law for the benefit of all consumers.”
In the House, Gottheimer was joined by Bruce Westerman, Tom Kean Jr., Rob Menendez and Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez. In the Senate, key supporters are Ed Markey, Ted Cruz, Tammy Baldwin, Deb Fischer, Ben Ray Luján, J.D. Vance, Roger Wicker and embattled New Jersey politician Bob Menendez.
Thursday’s Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee hearing, which begins at 10am Eastern in 2123 Rayburn HOB, will also see discussion of an American Privacy Rights Act discussion draft presented by House E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and H.R. 7891, the Kids Online Safety Act.
The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.
— Additional reporting by Cameron Coats
