Hearing It At Home
Both the U.S. House and Senate are back in session after the six-week August “district work period”—not a vacation, members are careful to note–and by all accounts, they got an earful from constituents.
Here’s hoping some of that sticks once they get back in the rarified air of the capitol dome.
Apparently, many citizens spoke up about the importance of having AM radios in cars…to the point that even before Senators returned to D.C., the list of those supporting legislation—in particular, the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act”—grew, with another half-dozen signing on as supporters. A total of 34 senators now are on board, with one of the latest being U.S. Senator from Iowa Joni Ernst. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley already indicated in early August he was a supporter.
On the House side, 150 members are in support…including Congressmen Feenstra and Nunn, and Congresswomen Miller-Meeks and Hinson from Iowa.
That seems like the Iowa delegation gets it…but it’s far from simply a Republican issue. There is wide bipartisan support for the measure, which is designed to thwart the car companies’ efforts to make you pay for the entertainment you get in the car…radio is free, so they don’t make money off you on that each month. No radio means you might buy into their streaming services, which makes them money. Yes, there is also the possibility of content censorship…but I really think it’s all about money. If they drop AM radios…then the carmakers will soon say it’s too expensive to put FM-only radios in (even though they were the ones that caused the problem)…so there goes FM radio too. And just like that…they make money off the tremendously distracting video screens they put in cars these days that are more of a threat to safety than anything else.
Sounds like voters of all kinds are giving lawmakers an earful on the AM radio stuff, and lawmakers are responding. Obviously, we have a vested interest in having AM radio be in cars, but clearly Americans support the issue.
Now if only the lawmakers will remember the earful they got from constituents on passing a budget on time, passing a farm bill on time, and all the rest.
