WABC, New York ran the above notice in today’s (9/20) issue of the New York Post – naming names in the battle to save AM radio from exclusion in automobile dashboards. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the pending bill Wednesday (9/19) requiring new cars to have AM radios in their dashboards. The bill was passed by the committee on a roll-call vote of 45-2 and now heads to the full House for final approval. Titled the “AM for Every Vehicle Act,” the bill, if passed, would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles “without a separate or additional payment, fee, or surcharge.” Supporters of the bill say that AM radio serves the public interest and safety during natural disasters and other events requiring emergency broadcasting information – not to mention a wide variety of programming genres not readily available on other platforms in addition to regions of the country not fully served by digital media.
