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Floor Speech

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Mr. LUJAN. Mr. President, I want to express thanks for the leadership of my colleagues from Texas and Massachusetts and for the work they have done in this space, bringing more and more attention to something that doesn't impact our daily lives until we need it most, when there is often an emergency, as there was in New Mexico about 2 years ago, when the world's attention was on our beautiful State and we suffered the worst fires in our State's history.

Now, these were forest fires that received so much attention in our State because they were started by the Federal Government. How, you might ask. These were prescribed burns that went out of control.

Now, when cell phones were not working, when other methods of media were not able to connect because powerlines were going down, it was one local radio station, KNMX, an AM station in Las Vegas, NM, that was streaming more and more news to volunteers coming in on their time off, radio personalities ensuring that people would know what was happening because they were being told to evacuate from their homes, folks driving home from work in rural areas. As Senator Cruz points out, when there is no news connectivity, no other information coming in, we depend on AM radio.

I just don't understand why there is opposition to this. I was hoping Senator Cruz and Senator Markey and I could come to the floor today to celebrate the passing of this important legislation, not to sit and listen to that objection.

Just to point this out, in local news reporting, predominantly through AM radio, and in New Mexico because of the fires, we heard from the FEMA Administrator--from Administrator Criswell--who said ``AM radio is one of the most dependable ways that we can reach individuals across this country to get warnings out there.''

We saw this play out firsthand in New Mexico, and, as we have been reminded, this is not just a challenge in my State or in Texas or in Massachusetts but in every one of the 50 States across the country. The Federal Government should be doing more to make it easier for Americans to access potentially lifesaving emergency broadcasts--plain and simple.

With natural disasters happening every day in every State, I wanted to clarify a few points, some of which I heard today.

One, I heard a claim that the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act will force manufacturers of electric vehicles to completely redesign the drivetrain. I heard a little bit about that today.

Here are the facts. The fact is that car companies have already solved this engineering challenge. We have already heard of the number of companies that have come forward. With the 20 letters that Senator Markey sent out, 10 companies responded--Honda, Hyundai, Land Rover, Kia, Lucid, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, and Toyota--that they already figured this out. Brilliant engineers at those companies figured this out.

Some of the folks who are objecting to this are flying rocket ships and, I would argue, have some of the most talented engineers in the world working for them. Challenge them to solve this challenge, as the other 10 companies have. Sometimes, it just means insulating some cable a little bit more, not because it impacts the vehicle but because there might be a little bit of static coming in.

I would rather have a little static and receive the lifesaving information than not even have access to it.

I have heard that the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act would increase costs for new vehicles by thousands and thousands of dollars by these vehicles. Well, again, 10 companies have already figured this out, and they are making it happen.

But here is the concern that I have. I see access to AM radio as a lifesaving feature--important information that we all depend on. I had heard that seatbelts would be too costly when that was being put forth as a requirement in vehicles to help save people's lives. When there was a conversation about airbags saving people's lives, I heard and I read that it was too expensive, that that shouldn't happen. We don't need airbags in vehicles.

When we were all debating about the inclusion of backup cameras to prevent the deaths of little kids in cars, there were many who were saying: Oh, it is too expensive. It cannot be done.

I am very concerned that when it comes to moving this technology forward that the same tired excuses are brought forward. This body has a chance to be able to get this done, and I hope that we can see something put on the floor here soon because more and more vehicles getting on the road without AM radio are jeopardizing the lives and safety of our constituents.

The last thing I will say is this--and this is about a conversation with a small radio owner in New Mexico, out of Sante Fe, at KSWV. I was speaking to him before I came down, and he was reminding me about the core physics of electromagnetic spectrum around AM, and the Presiding Officer touched on this. It is everywhere. As a matter of fact, KOB--a station in Albuquerque, NM--touches a little more than half the State with their broadcasts.

It is pretty incredible what this spectrum can deliver in our communities. We should maximize the reach of emergency alerts over AM radio and wireless networks. The physics and the electromagnetics of this are plain and simple, and that is why I certainly hope that we can get this done.

To the Senator from Texas, I have so much more to offer, and I was going to offer it in the Record because the argument is strong; it is compelling. We have got to get this done. I certainly hope that we will see some floor time and get this done because it could mean someone's life in our communities after not getting the information they need to get out of their community or out of their home because a tornado or a hurricane or a fire is on them.

No more excuses. Let's get it done.

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