As talks about what should be included in the forthcoming emergency resolution and National Defense Authorization Act ramp up, first responders are ramping up pressure on Congress to advance the bipartisan AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act before the legislative session’s end. This bill will protect the National Public Warning System and Emergency Alert System by ensuring that AM radios remain in car dashes.
On Dec. 5, the Washington Examiner reported that a coalition of 14 first responders from the States of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina sent a letter urging Speaker Mike Johnson (a sponsor of the bill) and Leaders Steve Scalise, Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, and Mitch McConnell to move the legislation.
“During and after [Hurricane Helene], roughly six million people in the southeastern United States lacked power, and many did not have cellphone or internet service,” the coalition wrote. “They still managed to receive access to life-saving information because the emergency managers on the ground made significant use of the government’s emergency alerting systems, which rely heavily on AM radio signals.”
On Nov. 22, POLITICO Influence reported that a coalition of 20 current and former public safety officials from the State of New York sent a similar letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asking him to call the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act for a vote in the Senate before the years’ end.
Signers of the letter included FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chel, FDNY Department Chief John Hodgens, NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, and a slew of other current and former commissioners and department chiefs from The City of New York and New York State.
“During Superstorm Sandy, more than a million residents of the New York region had their radio dials tuned in during any 15-minute period,” the New York coalition wrote. “While their cellphones didn’t work, and their internet remained out for days (in some cases, weeks), their AM radios functioned as well as ever.” They also emphasized that, “during 9/11, internet and cell networks quickly went down, but radio did not.”
This summer, a coalition of Louisiana first responders — led by Lt. General Russel Honoré, who served as Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina — sent a letter advocating for passage of the legislation for many of the same reasons.
“We know from experience — from the near-death on-air calls some of us fielded during the height of both disasters to the number of first responders and emergency management professionals who have attested to AM radio being the only communication tool they had during the worst of it all — that AM was responsible for saving countless lives,” they wrote, recounting their efforts during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
At the time of this story’s publication, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act has a filibuster-proof number of Senate co-sponsors. It easily passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and it cleared the House Energy & Commerce Committee on a 45-2 vote.
