PRINTER'S NO. 1370
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
223
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY BAKER, DUSH, ROTHMAN, COSTA, KANE, CAPPELLETTI,
BREWSTER, CULVER, DILLON, SCHWANK AND J. WARD,
FEBRUARY 12, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY, FEBRUARY 12, 2024
A RESOLUTION
Urging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to
make a rule requiring automakers to maintain free, broadcast
AM radio in all vehicles.
WHEREAS, There are approximately 164 AM radio stations across
Pennsylvania, with signals that reach farther than any other;
and
WHEREAS, More than 80 million Americans tune into free, local
AM radio stations each month for news, sports or entertainment;
and
WHEREAS, AM radio serves as the backbone of the Emergency
Alert System which warns the public of pending danger and is
therefore a critical source of information in times of
emergency; and
WHEREAS, AM radio stations play a crucial role serving as the
vast majority of primary entry points across the country,
designated radio stations whose signals cover 90% of the
American population and have a direct connection to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Pennsylvania Emergency
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Management Agency (PEMA) and the National Weather Service; and
WHEREAS, FEMA relies on AM radio stations to ensure that the
President can communicate to Americans when major public safety
or national security events occur and has invested tens of
millions of dollars to "harden" these radio stations to
withstand "All Hazards," including chemical, biological,
radiological, high-altitude electro-magnetic pulse and nuclear
attacks; and
WHEREAS, According to FEMA, these hardened stations provide
the nation's "last resort mass communications capabilities under
all conditions"; and
WHEREAS, FEMA further states, "In the aftermath of a
national, catastrophic event ... broadcast radio may be the most
effective method [of transmitting crucial information to the
public] since it is possible that terrestrial Internet Protocol
networks and other pathways could be inoperable, especially at
'last mile' delivery to the public"; and
WHEREAS, When power goes out and the Internet goes down,
radio remains the most resilient form of communication,
especially in vehicles during power outages; and
WHEREAS, AM radio uniquely can reach listeners in a wide
geographic area and is available in urban and rural areas,
regardless of Internet access and without paid subscriptions;
and
WHEREAS, AM radio plays a vital role in serving minority,
non-English-speaking and other underrepresented communities with
free, in-language and religious programming; and
WHEREAS, AM radio is highly important to rural and farming
communities, providing weather updates, crop reports and other
information to farmers and ranchers; and
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WHEREAS, Removing AM radio from vehicles ignores the critical
safety benefits of AM radio and would deprive many listeners of
this lifesaving emergency information and put public safety at
risk; and
WHEREAS, Including AM radio in electric vehicles is neither
especially costly nor technically complex to achieve, as
evidenced by the large number of electric vehicle manufacturers
that include AM radio in their vehicles; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make a rule requiring
automakers to maintain free, broadcast AM radio in all vehicles.
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