Congressional legislation that would require the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to issue a rule requiring access to AM broadcast stations in motor vehicles, and for other purposes, is one step closer to getting approved in the House of Representatives.
The AM For Every Vehicle Act has reached the number of co-sponsors needed to pass the legislation through the lower body of Congress.
Now, it is up to the House of Representatives to schedule a vote on the House version of the bill, introduced by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.).
While Gottheimer took time to note that his proposed legislation had reached 218 co-sponsors, as of Thursday morning (3/7) a total of 223 co-sponsors have signed on to H.R. 3413, introduced in the House in May 2023.
There were four new co-sponsors that signed on to the bill on Wednesday — a sign that lobbying by the NAB and state broadcaster associations on Capitol Hill yesterday proved successful.
The newest House Members to sign on to H.R. 3413 are Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.), Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.), and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.).
Since February 23, House Members have given an abundance of support to H.R.3413. Since then, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Tex.), Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), Rep. Brian Babin (R-Tex.), Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), as well as Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) have signed on to the legislation.
Stacey Plaskett, Delegate to the U.S. Virgin Islands District at Large, also contributed her support; she is a non-voting member of Congress.
The Congressional version of the AM For Every Vehicle Act, led by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), is only three co-sponsors away from its own simple majority of 51. The measure has been waiting to be scheduled for a vote by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) since July. The majority of votes is needed, after Kentucky Senator Rand Paul blocked a bipartisan-driven majority consent vote in November. Paul is seeking to override the AM mandate and instead use the legislation to end electric vehicle subsidies under the American Vehicle Tax Credit.
As the bill gets nearer to its goal, the agency led by Buttigieg is ready to implement the act once signed by the president. Speaking recently on Nexstar Media Group’s WGN-AM in Chicago, Buttigieg addressed the Act, saying that he is “ready to run with [the Act] the moment Congress gets it done.”
The Act has garnered mass public support, with more than 400,000 emails, letters, and social media posts directed to Senators and Representatives.
— With reporting by Cameron Coats, in New York
