The House approved legislation requiring new passenger vehicles to provide AM radio as standard equipment at no additional cost, advancing the bipartisan measure to the Senate amid a debate over emergency communications and automaker concerns about a federal technology mandate.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The House has approved a bipartisan measure that would require automakers to provide AM broadcast radio in new passenger vehicles without charging buyers an additional fee, moving the proposal to the Senate after years of debate over the disappearance of AM receivers from some newer models.
The House passed H.R. 979, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025, by voice vote Tuesday, Sept. 15. The Senate received the measure Wednesday, read it twice and placed it on the Senate legislative calendar, where it awaits further action.
The legislation directs the transportation secretary, working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Federal Communications Commission, to establish a federal requirement for AM reception in newly manufactured passenger vehicles. The equipment would have to be included as standard equipment and provide drivers with easy access to AM stations without a separate fee or surcharge.
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., introduced the House bill with Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. The legislation has attracted more than 300 House cosponsors from both parties.
Supporters have focused heavily on AM radio’s role when severe weather or other emergencies disrupt cellular networks, internet access or electrical service.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who helped promote an earlier version of the proposal, said maintaining AM receivers in vehicles provides motorists with another means of receiving emergency information.
“AM radio is a lifeline,” Gottheimer said following House passage. “When the power goes out, when the cell towers go down, and when the Internet cuts off during a storm or an emergency, AM radio is often the only way families can get the life-saving information they need.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pointed to the technology’s importance in areas regularly exposed to hurricanes and tornadoes.
“When disaster strikes – especially in hurricane and tornado-prone states like Louisiana – local communities rely on AM radio to deliver accurate, up-to-date information and critical safety alerts,” Johnson said.
If enacted, the bill would give the Department of Transportation one year to issue the required regulation.
For most manufacturers, the rule would have to take effect no later than two years after it is issued. Manufacturers that produced no more than 40,000 passenger vehicles for the U.S. market in 2022 would receive a longer implementation period, with the rule taking effect for them at least four years after issuance.
The legislation also establishes requirements for the period between enactment and full implementation.
Manufacturers selling passenger vehicles without AM reception during that transition would have to clearly disclose the absence of the feature to buyers. They also could not charge consumers a separate fee, payment or surcharge for access to AM broadcasting.
The bill would authorize civil penalties for violations of the eventual regulation and allow the attorney general to seek court orders enforcing it. The measure also calls for a Government Accountability Office study comparing AM radio with other technologies used to distribute emergency alerts through the country’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
The legislation comes after several automakers removed AM receivers from certain vehicles, with the issue becoming particularly prominent as electric vehicles gained market share.
Some manufacturers have cited electromagnetic interference generated by electric motors, high-voltage systems and other electronics as a technical obstacle to clear AM reception.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation and other technology and automotive organizations have opposed a federal mandate. They argue that manufacturers can reduce AM interference only by adding shielding, filters and other equipment and contend motorists can receive emergency information through other technologies, including FM radio, cellular emergency alerts, satellite services and digital platforms.
Supporters of the bill counter that AM broadcasting provides advantages during emergencies because its signals can travel long distances and do not require consumers to maintain cellular service, internet access or a paid subscription.
The legislation’s emergency-communications provisions specifically require the GAO to examine AM radio’s resilience, accessibility and effectiveness compared with other warning technologies. The study would also examine whether alternative systems are capable of ensuring that emergency presidential messages can reach at least 90% of the U.S. population during a crisis, including at night.
The measure now arrives in a Senate where a companion proposal has already attracted substantial bipartisan support.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., have led the Senate effort through S. 315, the chamber’s version of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act.
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced S. 315 in February 2025. By April of that year, Cruz and Markey announced that the measure had reached 60 Senate cosponsors.
Following the House vote, the two senators called for the Senate to finish work on the legislation.
“This vote sends a clear message to car manufacturers that AM Radio is a lifeline that must be protected in new vehicles,” Cruz and Markey said in a joint statement.
“From emergency response to sports, entertainment, and news, AM radio is an essential communication tool for tens of millions of Americans.”
“It is now time for the Senate to pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act and for this legislation to become law,” they added.
The House version also contains an eight-year sunset provision. Unless Congress acts again, the legislation and the transportation secretary’s authority to administer or enforce its AM-radio rule would expire eight years after enactment.
For now, the House vote leaves the proposed mandate one chamber short of congressional approval.
As of Sept. 16, H.R. 979 had been received by the Senate, read twice and placed on its legislative calendar. The Senate had not completed floor action on the House-passed bill.
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