Im very curious as to what business this is of the Senate?
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The federal gov’t places all sort of restrictions on what can, cannot, or must be installed in new cars sold in the USA.
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An alphabet list of agencies directed by Congress think this is their business…
The FCC, FTC, NHTSA, CPA to list 4… Heck even FEMA and the IRS might get involved somehow… 
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There is no regulation that im aware of that requires that any radio be installed in a new car.
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Yes, you are right. You don’t have to install a radio at all.
In fact back in the day the gummint arm-twisted manufacturers into offering a radio delete option.
Try getting anything on fm except music and bbc programs. I would rather see fm eliminated. One might also ask what business it is of the feds whether I can have a gas stove, or an ic car or lawn mower. Correct. None of their business so let’s work on that.
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The Federal Emergency Boadcast System uses AM radio,
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Highway travel alerts are only on AM radio, 530am in Washingtion state,
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All the serious issues facing our country and this is what they expend their limited time on??
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Federal Law governs the Emergency Alert System, specifically:
47 CFR § 11.11 - The Emergency Alert System (EAS).
Quote…
§ 11.11 The Emergency Alert System (EAS).
(a) The EAS is composed of analog radio broadcast stations including AM, FM, and Low-power FM (LPFM) stations; digital audio broadcasting (DAB) stations, including digital AM, FM, and Low-power FM stations; . . .
End Quote… It goes on in this paragraph to describe TV, Ku-band Fixed-Satellite, and other transmission/reception devices not commonly found in civilian vehicles…
So I think the AM issue in Autos is really a moot point, so if you are listening to FM or satellite radio, you would still get the message.
My guess is that some of our politicos have a lot money tied up in AM Radio Stations and they are protecting their investments…
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The local/regional traffic information and alerts are not federally regulated, so depending on your location, the scope of coverage is probably all over the charts…
Here in Hampton Roads Virginia, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) transmits on 1680 on the AM dial, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, 365-days a year for traffic advisories to keep motorists informed on traffic and travel conditions and construction information.
They also have a Web Site to check all the traffic cameras that VDOT control so you can see the actual traffic conditions. Where I live we have the Coleman Bride, the James River Bridge, Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel; all of which, if you catch them at the wrong time, you could be stuck in a traffic jam for hours.
I seriously doubt that. Now, if you said that these elected representatives get donations from AM radio station owners I’d be all in on that.
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What is the financial benefit to auto makers for omitting AM receivers from OE radios?
No, your other examples regulate carbon emissions, which cause climate change. Which affects us all. That IS the business of government.
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I suppose that their audio suppliers would charge a tiny bit less if AM was eliminated from the receivers.
My first two Outbacks had NOAA’s Weather Radio band included in the radio receiver, and I really liked being able to listen to it on occasion. When my 3rd Outback arrived sans Weather Radio capability, I spoke with someone at corporate who said that their surveys indicated that too few people actually listened to it, so the company decided to omit that feature in order to save money.
Costs less. Not a lot less but they are relentless about cost cutting. As an example, I had a 1973 Mercury Capri GT. The car always shook at about 40mph. I was talking with college friends that both owned the same models, and one was a motorhead. Both said the problem was cheap struts in the front and replacing them would cure the problem. It did. Imagine that Ford could have avoided the problem entirely if the had spend an extra couple of bucks on satisfactory struts and avoided angering the buyers. Gotta save a dollar or two though.
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And money!!!
Very few people under 50 use AM radio. Or care.
We continue to waste time and energy on silly things that don’t matter, or maybe mattered 50+ years ago… while we completely ignore the problems of the present. Which aren’t getting any better.
OK, rant over.
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I like AM Radio and I’ve posted this before…
AM Radio creates local jobs, It provides Local News and Journalism, It allows Local Business to target their advertisements to the Local Areas, It increase Diversity based on the Local Area, and it meets the needs of the Local Listening Area. Stations, out of Big Cities do not cater to the needs outside their normal listening area. If I listen to a station out of NYC, I’m probably not much interested in a concert at Carnegie Hall, 550-miles away…, but that same concert at Scope, 50-miles away has me buying tickets…
You give our politician toooooooo (still not enough "o"s….) credit to do the right thing, not to trade in on the “inside knowledge” they acquire from sitting in on all these committees meetings… What Martha Stewart did got her jail time, what the former speaker of the house did was perfectly legal and got her rich…
The video starts where it gets interesting, but you can watch it from the beginning and I might suggest you also Google “Congressional stock trading, Congressional investments, and you might also check out the Congressional Blind Trust Act of 2011…”
You would think that Congressional Blind Trust Act of 2011 which requires all of Congress to put their assets into a blind trust would put a stop to trading on insider knowledge, but there are all sort of holes in the act. Members of Congress are still allowed to buy and sell individual stocks as long as they disclose their trades within 45 days.