Keeping AM radio in EVs is a safety issue

By now, most of America is aware of Democratic and Republican disappointment over recent changes to the Inflation Reduction Act’s “Made in America” electric vehicle (EV) tax credit rules to include cars made in Japan and elsewhere. Critics have labeled the rule changes as a “too little, too late” waste of taxpayer funds that will do nothing but enrich multi-million-dollar foreign automakers.

Now, however, an even broader bipartisan issue over subsidized EV makers has arisen, and it involves how some manufacturers (both foreign and domestic) are putting America’s national security at risk. 

It’s not every day that Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ed. Markey (D-Mass.) or Reps. Mike Gallagher (D-Wisc.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) find common cause and sound the same alarm bells. But that’s precisely what they’re seeing today. Their concern is that electric vehicle makers, despite receiving significant government subsidies, are making public safety and the consumer experience worse instead of better by removing AM radios from their vehicles.

State and federal public safety officials have warned that the removal of AM interferes with the federal government’s National Public Warning System, used to broadcast local emergency alerts and communicate with the public during emergencies. In May, this bipartisan coalition introduced the AM for Every Vehicle Act in an attempt to preserve this system, which will receive a hearing in Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone’s (D-N.J.) House Energy and Commerce Committee in early June.

Over 92 percent of Americans listen to the radio. AM radio’s signal is stronger than any other communications channel in the country, and it’s what Americans count on during times of crisis. The federal government has poured tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars into making AM and FM radio the centerpiece of its National Public Warning System. 

That’s why it’s so disheartening that some EV makers are trying to cut costs by taking AM radio out of their dashes, instead of resolving the signal interference that their motors cause to AM reception — something Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and others have already done successfully.

The government is subsidizing EVs because it believes they will be key to protecting America’s long-term public health and national security interests. But if these automakers continue conflicting with the government’s highest responsibility — protecting public safety — these automakers should be considered part of the problem, not part of the solution. 

The government’s investments in AM radio and the National Public Warning System have already paid significant dividends. Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, who spearheaded the emergency response operations to Hurricane Sandy in 2012, told Fox News that AM radio was the only way his team could communicate with the public during that devastating superstorm. Large swathes of the state lost cable TV, cell phone and internet service, but AM radio remained strong, providing residents caught in the storm a lifeline. 

On what planet would it make sense for the government to continue subsidizing these companies if they don’t begin including the public’s health and safety in their decision-making matrices?

Thankfully, both parties agree on this point, and they’re coming out swinging against the auto industry in a big way.

Former Vice President Pence said that ensuring these new EVs include AM radio should be “a real priority for the free flow of information in America.”

Standing before Tesla’s New Jersey facility, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, one of the lead Democratic sponsors of the AM for Every Vehicle Act, was even more animated in his critique. “If Elon Musk has enough money to buy Twitter and send rockets to space, he can afford to include AM radio in his Teslas,” he said. He’s right.

The same goes for BMW, Volvo, and the other manufacturers taking AM radio out of their cars today.  It also goes for Ford, which to its credit, rescinded its plan to remove AM radio from its 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles in May, but hasn’t pledged to protect AM beyond that.

We’re not talking about little start-ups here — we’re talking about multi-billion-dollar companies, some of the most successful ones in the world. They probably didn’t know they were causing such harm months ago, but thanks to the noise made by this growing bipartisan choir of opposition, they do now, and it’s time for them to correct their mistakes.

If certain EV makers are unwilling to do what it takes to ensure that Americans have access to this important safety lifeline, then taxpayers shouldn’t continue giving them monetary lifelines.

Former Reps. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Nick Lampson (D-Texas) are former members of the House Transportation Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.