Retired police chiefs in New York state are urging the passage of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act because of the importance in messaging during emergencies.
"It's the strongest frequency that's out there," former NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan told New York's Daily News. "It's the easiest way to get the message out in a major emergency like Superstorm Sandy. There has to be somewhere for people to turn to to get information."
The 2023 bipartisan bill backed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas was reintroduced before this Congress along with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
"During weather disasters or power outages, AM radio is consistently the most reliable form of communication and is critical to keep millions of Texans safe," Cruz wrote in a statement last week. "AM radio has long been a haven for people to express differing viewpoints, allowing free speech and our robust democratic process to flourish for decades.
"I am honored to once again partner with Sen. Markey on this bipartisan legislation on behalf of our constituents who depend on AM radio and public airwaves for access to news, music, talk, and emergency alerts."
Automakers like Ford, Volkswagen, and Tesla were removing AM radios from new vehicle designs, claiming the frequency interferes with other electronic signals, but critics note automakers profit from data collecting from news and entertainment packages in vehicles but not from AM radio, the Daily News reported.
Notably, New York City Mayor Eric Adams' administration has had the New York Police Department encrypting police radio transmissions, which brought criticism from media and lawmakers.
"There's too much information out there, but I never had an issue with the media having access," Monahan told the Daily News. "It was that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can log on and listen in. I believe in encryption, but there needs to be exceptions for some entities — even if there's a five-minute delay."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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