WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress is back in session, and the NAB is wasting no time in bringing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act back in the spotlight, as the industry’s biggest advocate on Capitol Hill works hard on behalf of such members as iHeartMedia to ensure all on the road can maintain access to kHz-band broadcasts from Honolulu to San Juan.
It appears the NAB’s efforts are paying off. On Tuesday (9/5), no less than six U.S. Senators signed on as the latest co-sponsors of the AM preservation legislation.
Known as S.1669 in the upper body of Congress, the latest to attach their name to the act are Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Catherine Cortez Mastro (D-Nev.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
The addition of Nevada’s two senators as co-sponsors comes after the March 1 decision by Audacy Inc. to abandon KXST-AM 1140, shifting its Sports Betting programming to KLUC-FM HD2; and KDWN-AM 720 in Las Vegas, with its programming now exclusively on a powerful FM translator at 101.5 MHz.
In Las Vegas, the nation’s 31st-ranked market, no AM radio stations rank within the top 25; the highest-rated AM is Lotus Communications’ KWWN, home for the “Las Vegas Sports Network,” which has a 0.8 share of all listening. Reno, which is ranked No. 98 by Nielsen Audio, differs in that longtime 50kw Class B KKOH-AM 780, owned by Cumulus Media, is a key source for information in Northwest Nevada and such California communities as Susanville.
Everywhere in-between is likely a focus of importance for both Sen. Rosen and Sen. Cortez Mastro, as towns such as Tonopah are limited to just four FM stations (including a Nevada Public Radio simulcast partner), while municipalities that dot U.S. 50 across the Silver State are also reliant on big AM radio stations to provide information to these rural areas.
In the House, the legislation is known as H.R. 3413, and 149 co-sponsors have the names associated with the bill in the lower body of Congress. On September 1, three new Members joined the ranks of those endorsing the bill. Among them is Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), who was heavily reliant on Spanish-language Talk stations in Miami in his campaign to unseat Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, now vying to take on Sen. Rick Scott in the 2024 elections. Gimenez is joined by Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) and James Comer (R-Ky.).
If passed, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act provides the Secretary of Transportation one year to establish a standard for all new motor vehicles in the U.S. to come with AM radio reception and playback, which should be clearly visible on the vehicle’s dashboard.
Between the legislation’s enactment and the new standard taking effect, cars lacking AM radio receivers must be explicitly labeled for buyers.
“The incredible bipartisan support the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act has garnered in just a short time is a testament to the integral role AM broadcasting plays in informing, entertaining and connecting Americans across the country,” NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt said. “America’s broadcasters thank the members of Congress that are standing with their local AM station listeners and working to preserve radio’s pivotal place in the car dashboard.”
The 150 House cosponsors of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act are:
Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4)Mark Alford (R-MO-4)Mark Amodei (R-NV-2)Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-AL)Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-4)Don Bacon (R-NE-2)James Baird (R-IN-4)Becca Balint (D-VT-AL)Jack Bergman (R-MI-1)Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2)Mike Bost (R-IL-12)Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2)Julia Brownley (D-CA-26)Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13)Yadira Caraveo (D-CO-8)Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29)Mike Carey (R-OH-15)Andre Carson (D-IN-7)Ed Case (D-HI-1)Kathy Castor (D-FL-14)Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20)Ben Cline (R-VA-6)Michael Cloud (R-TX-27)James Comer (R-KY-1)Gerald Connolly (D-VA-11)Luis Correa (D-CA-46)Jim Costa (D-CA-21)Angie Craig (D-MN-2)Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY-4)Sharice Davids (D-KS-3)Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15)Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3)Neal Dunn (R-FL-2)Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13)Ron Estes (R-KS-4)Dwight Evans (D-PA-3)Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4)Brad Finstad (R-MN-1)Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1)Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-3)Mike Flood (R-NE-1)Bill Foster (D-IL-11)Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5)Russell Fry (R-SC-7)John Garamendi (D-CA-8)Mike Garcia (R-CA-27)Carlos Gimenez (R-FL-28)Jared Golden (D-ME-2)Daniel Goldman (D-NY-10)Josh Gothheimer (D-NJ-5)Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-7)Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6)Ashley Hinson (R-IA-2)Steven Horsford (D-NV-4)Richard Hudson (R-NC-9)Bill Huizenga (R-MI-4)Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38)Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18)Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-1)Bill Johnson (R-OH-6)Hank Johnson (D-GA-4)Mike Johnson (R-LA-4)Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-NJ-7)Bill Keating (D-MA-9)Mike Kelly (R-PA-16)Andy Kim (D-NJ-3)Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8)Nick LaLota (R-NY-1)Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1)Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5)Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23)Susie Lee (D-NV-3)Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3)Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-8)Frank Lucas (R-OK-3) |
Stephen Lynch (D-MA-8)Nancy Mace (R-SC-1)Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11)Tracey Mann (R-KS-1)Kathy Manning (D-NC-6)Michael McCaul (R-TX-10)Betty McCollum (D-MN-4)Jim McGovern (D-MA-2)Rob Menendez (D-NJ-8)Grace Meng (D-NY-6)Dan Meuser (R-PA-9)Carol Miller (R-WV-1)Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1)Marc Molinaro (R-NY-19)Alex Mooney (R-WV-2)Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-1)Joe Morelle (D-NY-25)James Moylan (R-GU-AL)Frank Mrvan (D-IN-1)Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15)Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-12)Grace Napolitano (D-CA-31)Joe Neguse (D-CO-2)Troy Nehls (R-TX-22)Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4)Ralph Norman (R-SC-5)Zach Nunn (R-IA-3)Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19)Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK-AL)Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-3)Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-7)Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1)Mark Pocan (D-WI-2)Bill Posey (R-FL-8)Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7)Mike Quigley (D-IL-5)Delia Ramirez (D-IL-3)Harold Rogers (R-KY-5)Mike Rogers (R-AL-3)Mat Rosendale (R-MT-2)Chip Roy (R-TX-21)Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5)David Schweikert (R-AZ-1)David Scott (D-GA-13)Pete Sessions (R-TX-17)Brad Sherman (D-CA-32)Adrian Smith (R-NE-3)Jason Smith (R-MO-8)Darren Soto (D-FL-9)Melanie Ann Stansbury (D-NM-1)Pete Stauber (R-MN-8)Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21)Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14)Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24)Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2)Tom Tiffany (R-WI-7)William Timmons (R-SC-4)Dina Titus (D-NV-1)Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12)Jill Tokuda (D-HI-2)Paul Tonko (D-NY-20)David Trone (D-MD-6)David Valadao (R-CA-22)Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ-2)Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3)Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-2)Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12)Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4)Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10)Susan Wild (D-PA-7)Roger Williams (R-TX-25)Joe Wilson (R-SC-2)Steve Womack (R-AR-3)Rudy Yakym (R-IN-2)Ryan Zinke (R-MT-1) |
The 34 Senate cosponsors of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act are:
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)Sherrod Brown (D-OH)Ted Budd (R-NC)Maria Cantwell (D-WA)Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)Kevin Cramer (R-ND)Ted Cruz (R-TX)Steve Daines (R-MT)Joni Ernst (R-IA)Deb Fischer (R-NE)Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)Lindsey Graham (R-SC)Josh Hawley (R-MO)Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) |
Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)Joe Manchin (D-WV)Ed Markey (D-MA)Roger Marshall (R-KS)Robert Menendez (D-NJ)Christopher Murphy (D-CT)Jon Ossoff (D-GA)Jacky Rosen (D-NV)Mike Rounds (R-SD)Bernie Sanders (I-VT)Rick Scott (R-FL)Tina Smith (D-MN)Dan Sullivan (R-AK)Jon Tester (D-MT)J.D. Vance (R-OH)Roger Wicker (R-MS)Todd Young (R-IN) |
