Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and attorneys general from 11 other states have signed onto letter that urges congress to force automakers to install A-M radios in new vehicles.

Major automakers have begun ditching A-M radio access in some models, but Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says Hurricane Helene shows the life-saving power of A-M radio and the people who work in those radio stations. Bird and the other attorneys general say A-M radio stations are the backbone of our nation’s Emergency Alert System and become the primary line of communication when electricity is out and cell phones and land phone lines aren’t working. Bird says congress needs to prioritize A-M radio and pass a bill that ensures A-M radio is standard equipment in all new vehicles.

The attorneys general from the states of Florida and South Carolina that are dealing with Hurricane Helene’s aftermath signed onto the A-M radio pitch, as did attorneys general from Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Radios were first installed in cars in the 1920s. By 1940, 20 percent of the cars in the U-S had a radio. F-M signals were added to dashboard radios in the 1950s.