President Trump is ready to sign the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who outlined the bill’s upcoming House floor vote set for September 14 and its hopeful fast-track into law with Salem Media’s Hugh Hewitt.
Ironically, it was getting the AM for Every Vehicle Act attached to a must-pass transportation bill that got the original standalone version scheduled for a vote instead. “That [transportation] bill ran into problems,” Leader Scalise said on The Hugh Hewitt Show. “And so what I did is I made a decision. I’m bringing that bill to the floor.”
Scalise, who represents Louisiana, drew on his own experience with Hurricane Katrina to explain the bill’s public-safety rationale. “When Hurricane Katrina hit, everything, you had power out for three weeks. The only way people were getting information was from their AM radios. They literally had their batteries in their old AM radios or in their car, and you turn your car on, and that’s how you were able to find out what was going on.”
That history, he said, is why the bill matters as cars change. “It’s critical that we keep this line of communication open on cars as they’re being made differently in the future,” Scalise said. “Let cars be made with even more technology, but we need to make sure they also have AM radio in them. That’s what this bill will ensure.”
As for the road forward, Scalise voiced optimism that the House vote will build momentum for Senate action. “Hopefully this is a bill that’s going to have a big enough vote where you’ll see the Senate be able to take it up. But let’s get all of our senators ready to go.” The Senate returns from its own extended recess the very week of September 14, giving the AM Act a narrow window to clear both chambers before lawmakers leave town again for nearly all of October and the first week of November ahead of the midterms.
“I was talking to the president about this bill last night, and I let him know that it was coming up. And he was excited about it. So he’s ready to sign this bill,” added Scalise. In July, President Trump told the Hewitt during a call-in to the show he was “very much onto [the AM for Every Vehicle Act]” and “we’re pushing it hard.”
Closing the interview, Hewitt urged listeners to contact their representatives ahead of the vote. “Everybody ought to be calling their congressman to vote for that bill,” he said. “We need to pass it.”
The NAB has released PSAs in English and Spanish asking radio listeners to contact their members of Congress by texting AM to 39179, urging them to support legislation that ensures AM radio remains in cars. Get them for your station here.
