As the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act awaits a vote in Congress, a budget estimate has provided encouraging news for its passage.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the passage of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act — which proposes to require automakers to include the band in new models — would only cost the government $1 million to implement and enforce between 2024 and 2028.
The budget office reported that the funds needed to cover the costs would be taken from the Department of Transportation and the Government Accountability Office.
A report from the organization claims that the money would need to come from the budget because it projects fines from automakers who did not include the AM band would be less than $500,000 during a nine-year period.
The $1 million figure would be a minuscule amount in the more than $6 trillion dollar current federal government budget.
Attention from the proposed bill has already reversed some manufacturers’ course. Ford originally planned to remove AM radio from its new makes and models before deciding against the move after receiving pushback from prominent state and federal lawmakers.
However, other auto brands, primarily electric vehicle manufacturers, have stuck by their decisions to remove access to the band,
