On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article about the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act (S.315). In January 2025, the act was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Why hasn’t it gone anywhere?

The article reports:

The legislation pushes back against automobile manufacturers moving to no longer include AM radio as standard equipment in new cars.

The bill mandates a Department of Transportation rule requiring that all new vehicles manufactured in the U.S. or imported come equipped with an AM radio and the ability to receive AM radio broadcasts.

At first glance, I felt, as I most always do, that what business is it of government to tell manufacturers what they should produce? These companies stay in business because they are the experts in how best to serve their customers.

In the name of disclosure, I am on the board of the National Religious Broadcasters, and NRB supports this legislation for various reasons, one being that AM radio is an important platform for Christian broadcasting.

However, despite my great zeal that all Americans hear the Gospel, I would not support this legislation for that reason. Again, we are talking about suppliers and consumers, and in my view, markets should operate freely and privately, and particular interest groups should not get government involved to protect and mandate what they want.

Given my first reaction to the bill, I was surprised to see the very wide (317 co-sponsors in the House) and very bipartisan support that it has.

The article notes:

I am persuaded in what I read as the national emergency benefits of AM broadcasting.

Here’s what my ChatGPT search tells me: “AM signals can travel hundreds of miles, especially at night, allowing one station to cover large regions; High power AM stations often have back-up generators and hardened transmission facilities, allowing them to continue broadcasting when cellular networks, internet service, or local FM stations fail; Many AM stations are designated as Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations. These stations are part of the national communications infrastructure and can broadcast presidential alerts and other emergency information during major disasters.”

AM radio is often the home of conservative talk radio. It was the home of Rush Limbaugh for many years. Now his successors occupy both AM and FM radio. This law needs to pass. If Americans don’t want AM radio in their cars, the car manufacturers can make that an option. Otherwise, put the AM radio in the car.