In less than two weeks, Election Day will be in the past. This will start the “Lame Duck” Congressional period before the current session concludes in January 2025. What does this mean for the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would mandate by law that all U.S. automotive companies manufacture vehicles that must have free access to radio signals on the kHz band?
If it were up to the automakers themselves, any mandate should be stopped. And, they’ve collectively spent millions of dollars to prevent the legislation from forward advancement on Capitol Hill.
As first reported by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink on Wednesday, Q3 disclosures based on an October 21 filing deadline indicate that six automakers spent $5.84 million in the third quarter alone as part of attempts to put the brakes on the Act.
That was actually the lowest quarterly lobbying spend of the year. Some $7.40 million was spent in Q1 2024, while $7.06 million was spent on lobbying in Q2 2024.
General Motors again spent the most, accounting for $3.05 million alone, employing the help of Missy Edwards Strategies, Fierce Government Relations, BL Partners Group LLC, and four more lobbying firms outside of its in-house team. Toyota was next with a total of $1,661,648. This was followed by Ford’s lobbying spend of $574,216.
Interestingly, Honda significantly cut its lobbying budget, to $400,000 from $1.1 million. Electric vehicle manufacturers Tesla and Rivian, among the first to remove AM access from their models, spent $120,000 and $40,000, respectively.
The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, first introduced by New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer and rebirthed by House Members Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) in the House and Senators Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the Senate, is pitched as ensuring AM radio — an important safety feature — stays in all in-dash entertainment systems. This proved particularly essential during Hurricane Helene in late September and early October, as iHeartMedia’s WWNC-AM 570 served as a communications conduit for those who had no power, running water, or internet and oftentimes had no cell phone connectivity.
For automakers, the goal is to prevent a vote from happening during the current Congressional session despite overwhelmingly strong bipartisan support of the legislation in both chambers. Should the 118th Congress conclude with no forward movement of the bill, the 119th Congress would need to restart the entire legislative process in a “reboot” of sorts.
Some 262 co-sponsors in the House and a supermajority in the Senate are in favor of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act.
As Hurricanes Helene and Milton each underscored the need for radio access during emergencies, Iowa AG Brenna Bird and Florida AG Ashley Moody, joined by ten other state attorneys general, recently penned a letter urging Congress to support the legislation. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson even noted, “I’ve been touring states affected by Hurricane Helene, and I and so many others can attest to the importance of AM radio at a time like this to get critical information to the people in a way that they can’t access it in any other.”
— With reporting by Adam R Jacobson, in Boca Raton, Fla.
