Eyes on Congress as Session Wrap Looms

- AM Radio, Performance Tax, TV Ownership

After a record federal government shutdown triggered by disputes over Republican cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act spending, Congress is rapidly approaching the end of the 2025 session with major policy concerns still pending and another budget cliff on the horizon.

Broadcasters continue to press for action on the overwhelmingly popular AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, fight a renewed push to impose a Performance Tax on Radio stations, and push back on efforts to derail the FCC's efforts to modernize its antiquated TV station ownership rules.

AM Radio

More than two-thirds of U.S. House and Senate members are co-sponsoring the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act which Sen. Ted Cruz is leading in the upper chamber with the bipartisan support of 24 Texans in the lower chamber - the most of any state except California.

This measure is a response to plans announced two years ago by a handful of electric vehicle manufacturers to drop AM Radio from new models, claiming they couldn't resolve interference created by the EV motors despite competitors successfully deploying the technology.

Within days of Sen. Cruz introducing the legislation, one of the automakers reversed their plans and issued an "over the air" update to activate the AM Radio in vehicles they'd claimed couldn't carry it, revealing these automakers' intention to charge consumers for a service Congress mandates be provided free of charge and serves as the backbone of the nation's emergency communications system.

Lawmakers must hold votes on the measure before it can be enacted into law which President Trump has pledged to do.

A House floor vote this month remains feasible, but Senate action is unlikely before Congress breaks for the holidays.

Performance Tax on Radio Stations

A small group of Senators serving on the Judiciary Committee's Intellectual Property subcommittee held a hearing Dec. 10 on the deceptively named American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) which seeks to impose a Performance Tax on Radio stations.

This tax would be in the form of a new music royalty that stations would have to pay in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars broadcasters collectively pay to performing artists, musicians, songwriters and composers through performance rights organizations (PRO's) such as ASCAP, BMI, GMR, SESAC and SoundExchange.

While the witness lineup was stacked two-to-one against local broadcasters and most of the Senators attending were AMFA cosponsors, lawmakers acknowledged the invaluable role that Radio stations play in their communities as Inner Banks Media President Henry Hinton spoke on behalf of local Radio stations.

WATCH THE ARCHIVED HEARING

TV Ownership Deregulation

The FCC is poised to consider eliminating the arbitrary and anticompetitive regulations prohibiting any broadcast television company from serving more than 39 percent of the country, but they won't act until 2026.

The change is needed to level the competitive playing field with unregulated Big Tech companies that are permitted to serve the entire country without any of the consumer protections or public service obligations imposed on local broadcasters.

Despite the FCC's clear authority to change this rule, some progressives and far-right media channels opposed to fair competition continue to claim otherwise, prompting TAB to encourage Sen. John Cornyn and seven Texans in the House to remain steadfast in their support of this change.

The effort continued even during Thanksgiving week when at least one House member began actively encouraging his Republican colleagues who have expressed support for FCC Chairman Carr's efforts to modernize the agency's outdated TV ownership regulations to back off their position.

Questions? Contact TAB's Oscar Rodriguez or call (512) 322-9944.