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Federal Bill Requires New Passenger Vehicles to Include Standard AM Radio Access for Emergency Alerts

Original title: AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025

Last action · September 16, 2026: Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 622.Sponsors: Gus Bilirakis and 317 others

Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Would Do

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 requires the Department of Transportation to issue a rule mandating that all new passenger motor vehicles manufactured or imported for sale in the United States include AM broadcast station reception as . Prior to the rule's effective date, manufacturers selling vehicles without AM radios must provide clear labeling and cannot charge extra fees for AM access. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study public emergency alert systems.

Why it matters

Vehicle purchasers will gain guaranteed access to AM radio without extra fees, while automakers face new federal design mandates, labeling rules, and potential civil penalties for noncompliance.

Background
  • Some modern automobile manufacturers have begun removing AM radio receivers from new electric and passenger vehicles, prompting concerns from emergency officials regarding the delivery of public alerts. context
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency operates the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to provide authenticated emergency and weather alerts to the public across various communication channels. context

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Automakers

Manufacturers must install AM radio hardware as standard equipment, provide warning labels on interim vehicles without AM access, and face potential civil penalties for noncompliance.

Directly affected

Vehicle purchasers

Buyers will receive standard AM radio capabilities in new passenger vehicles without paying separate fees and will receive disclosure labels if purchasing interim models without AM radios.

Directly affected

AM broadcast stations

Stations maintain guaranteed receiver availability in passenger motor vehicles for broadcasting public programming and emergency alerts.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act require automakers to do?
It requires the Department of Transportation to issue a rule forcing automakers to include AM radio receiving devices as standard, no-cost equipment in new passenger vehicles.
Are small automakers given extra time to comply?
Yes. Manufacturers that produced 40,000 or fewer passenger motor vehicles for sale in the U.S. in 2022 are given an effective compliance date of at least 4 years after the rule is issued.
What happens if a car is sold before the rule takes effect and does not have AM radio?
The manufacturer must provide clear and conspicuous labeling informing purchasers that the vehicle lacks AM radio and cannot charge an extra fee for AM access during that interim period.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Where This Stands

Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.

Procedural history

17 actions
  1. Sep 16, 2026Senate
    Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 622.
  2. Sep 15, 2026House
    Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  3. Sep 15, 2026HouseFloor
    On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5668-5669)
  4. Sep 15, 2026HouseFloor
    Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  5. Sep 15, 2026House
    DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 979.
  6. Sep 15, 2026House
    Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5667-5670)
Show 11 earlier actions
  1. Sep 15, 2026House
    Mr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  2. Nov 12, 2025House
    Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 330.
  3. Nov 12, 2025House
    Committee on Transportation discharged.
  4. Nov 12, 2025House
    Committee on Homeland Security discharged.
  5. Nov 12, 2025House
    Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-379, Part I.
  6. Sep 17, 2025HouseCommittee
    Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 50 - 1.
  7. Sep 17, 2025House
    Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  8. Feb 5, 2025HouseCommittee
    Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
  9. Feb 5, 2025HouseCommittee
    Referred to the Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology.
  10. Feb 5, 2025HouseCommittee
    Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  11. Feb 5, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Introduced in House

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

“P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology”

Senate LDANames this bill's numberView on LDA.gov →

RIVER PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUP

on behalf of SALEM MEDIA GROUP

Senate LDAMatched on title words onlyView filing on LDA.gov →

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Show 313 more sponsors
Stacey PlaskettHouse · District 0DemocraticCosponsorNo profile match
Eleanor NortonHouse · District 0DemocraticCosponsorNo profile match
James WalkinshawHouse · District 11DemocraticCosponsorNo profile match
Pablo HernándezHouse · District 0DemocraticCosponsorNo profile match

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Federal Mandate on In-Vehicle Entertainment and Alert Hardware

The legislation preempts state laws regarding AM radio access and introduces direct federal vehicle component mandates justified by public emergency notification needs.

Connected Entities

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation and 2 more
OrganizationFederal Emergency Management Agency“Administrator participates in consultations regarding emergency alerting systems”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of Justice“Attorney General may bring civil actions to enforce rule violations.”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of Transportation“Required to issue a rule regarding AM radio capabilities in passenger vehicles.”Map →
OrganizationFederal Communications Commission“Consulted on the rulemaking process and broadcast regulations.”Map →
OrganizationGovernment Accountability Office“Comptroller General is directed to conduct a comprehensive study on public emerg”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.congress.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy45
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz60
    Current news / social attention level

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