House Recess Slows AM Radio Bill, While Support Keeps Growing.

The lights have been off in the House for the past four weeks, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he may keep the chamber in recess until the federal government shutdown is over. What some critics have referred to as an unscheduled “paid vacation” for lawmakers means the proposed AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979) will not make it to the floor anytime soon for a vote. But that may not be all bad. The record has shown that the longer members of Congress are in their district, the more support builds for the bill as face-to-face lobbying by local broadcasters continues to hold a lot of sway.

That seems to be the case again this time. In the four weeks since the House went into recess, three more names have been added to the list of co-sponsors. They include Reps. Julie Johnson (D-TX), Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and Maggie Goodlander (D-NH). The pace may have been slower in the past; however, based on the simple reality that there are fewer lawmakers not on board with the idea. The House version of the bill is now being sponsored by 307 members.

When the House does finally return to regular business, broadcasters are hoping leadership will bring the AM bill up for a vote as quickly as possible. One hurdle has been removed in recent weeks with an amended version being passed out of committee last month. Supporters have agreed to a compromise that would sunset the requirement two years earlier. It means that rather than mandating AM radio remain in passenger cars for 10 years, the bill will require the service for eight years.

Insiders say that was a move to appease Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) in particular, who controls what is brought to the floor. Scalise has expressed doubts about the mandate. He also has close ties to the automotive industry, which has been opposed to the proposal.

Meanwhile, the Senate has remained in session during the shutdown — but it has yet to take up the AM bill. It was passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee in February, but Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) hasn’t yet brought it to the floor for a vote. Senate sponsors Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Edward Markey (D-MA) have not yet signaled they are willing to scale back their bill to match the House version. It could mean that two different bills with two different timelines are passed in each chamber, with a compromise worked out between them during the reconciliation process.

Even as the sunset date is now in flux, other provisions in the proposed AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act remain the same. If carmakers don’t add AM they would be required to put a warning label on vehicles. They could also face potential fines. The proposal would also direct the Government Accountability Office to study whether alternative communication systems could fully replicate the reach and effectiveness of AM broadcast radio for alerting the public to emergencies.

The bill has the support of over 125 organizations, including the National Emergency Management Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, AARP, Native Public Media, SAG-AFTRA, and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

While carmakers have resisted the mandate, some brands have recommitted to AM radio. But the bill may also have frozen carmakers’ positions in place. Ever since Ford announced it would return AM to all models two years ago, no other brand has made a similar move.

Broadcasters have argued there is good reason to keep AM in the dashboard. The latest Nielsen data shows 82 million Americans listen to AM each month. That represents one out of three AM/FM radio listeners.