AM Radio Delay
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. A delay by select automakers in removing AM radio from the dash in new cars allows lawmakers time to craft legislation to keep AM radio in vehicles.
Representative Mark Alford, a Missouri Republican, says the issue is how automakers are trying to create new profits …
ALFORD … “The way that cars are being made in the future is that you buy apps for your car like you buy apps for your phone. And so, the money is not necessarily going to be in the printer. going to be in the ink.”
For rural America, Alford says AM radio is critical during emergencies, such as severe weather …
ALFORD … “In times of crisis, farmers, ranchers, people in the rural America, have relied on AM radio for years, decades, to get the information they need, especially in times of emergency.”
Earlier this year, lawmakers introduced the AM for Every Vehicle Act which would require automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio at no additional charge …
ALFORD … “A lot of us put pressure on the manufacturers and they have now relented for at least another year. That will give us time to work on legislation to make sure, not that we're telling businesses how to do business, that’s very important, but that we secure this channel of information for rural America.”
The legislation would require the Department of Transportation to impose a new rule requiring all new vehicles to have AM radio receivers installed as standard equipment.
