Radio’s top lobbyists are not waiting for the new Congress. With the midterms behind them, NAB and a Washington think tank are pressing lawmakers and the FCC to act on AM in cars and a long-delayed ownership review before the clock runs out on 2026.
With last week’s midterms setting up a divided government for the next two years, NAB EVP of Government Relations Shawn Donilon went on the AirTime podcast to say the organization’s top priority for the lame duck session is the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. The bill passed the House in September and has more than 60 co-sponsors in the Senate.
Donilon sees two ways to get the bill done before the current session of Congress ends on January 3. “We need to convert that in this remaining session, whether that’s the Senate taking up the House-passed bill, sending it to the president’s desk, or finding a ride on some larger legislative vehicle should that materialize,” he commented. The remarks sync up with comments made by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) last month.
Should the Act be stalled on the finish line, the bill would need to be reintroduced and go through the entire legislative process again, as it did upon completion of the 118th Congress in 2025.
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.
As for the new Congress, which will see Donilon serving as NAB’s Chief Advocacy Officer as Rick Kaplan exits, he laid out the order of business. Donilon also expects the new Congress to take a harder look at big tech and AI. He sees an opportunity for local stations whose content is used by AI platforms without permission or compensation.
At the FCC, NAB does not expect the election to change Chairman Carr’s deregulatory agenda. The top item is the ongoing Quadrennial Review of local ownership rules that could lead to more industry consolidation.
A loosening of radio caps has recently been supported by DC think tank Bull Moose Project. Bull Moose President Aiden Buzzetti says, “We’ve always been critics of corporate consolidation and anti-competitive behavior, but we don’t fundamentally believe that just because there is consolidation, there’s some illegal anti-competitive act going on. In fact, we believe that allowing these stations to consolidate will allow them to compete in the overall marketplace with these big tech companies who are abusing the marketplace.”
The group is running a petition urging the FCC to act quickly.
