AM Radio’s Dashboard Fight Moves To Senate After House Passage.

The long-running push to keep AM radio in vehicle dashboards cleared a major hurdle Tuesday as the House passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979) by voice vote, capping months of lobbying efforts by the industry that had attracted more than 300 co-sponsors for the bill.

The legislation will direct the Department of Transportation to require AM reception as standard equipment in new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. For Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), the bill’s lead House sponsor, the case for keeping AM in vehicles comes down to what happens when other communications systems fail.

“Just imagine if, in that critical moment, you find that your vehicle is not receiving those AM alert transmissions,” Bilirakis told the House. “If a vehicle does not have AM broadcasting abilities, it takes away the last resort of communication and leaves people vulnerable during moments where seconds matter.”

But the legislation that passed Tuesday is not simply the AM mandate that broadcasters have spent years pushing. Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell, whose district and career have put her close to the auto industry, used her floor speech to explain the compromises that helped get the legislation across the finish line.

Dingell called the bill a “strong compromise” produced after “a lot of tough discussions” involving lawmakers, broadcasters and automakers. She said Congress needed to balance continued access to emergency information with the reality that vehicle and communications technology will continue to change.

“This bill mandates AM radio in every new car, but it also includes a sunset provision recognizing that Congress should reassess the mandates as technology evolves,” Dingell said. “If AM radio continues to provide value in the future, Congress can and should act again.”

Under the compromise, the legislation will sunset eight years after enactment. It would also require DOT to examine potential safety and innovation issues involving AM reception in vehicles equipped with automated driving systems and possible solutions automakers could adopt.

Dingell pointed out AM is hardly disappearing from dashboards. She told lawmakers that 99% of the 286 million vehicles currently on U.S. roads have AM and that roughly 90% of new vehicles continue to include it. With the average vehicle more than 12 years old, she said AM will remain available to most drivers for years regardless of the legislation.

“This is about putting consumers in the driver's seat and maintaining broad access to emergency communications,” Dingell said.

Phased-In Rollout

The bill would give DOT one year after enactment to issue its AM rule. The requirement would generally take effect no more than two years after the rule is issued, although manufacturers that produced no more than 40,000 passenger vehicles for U.S. sale in 2022 would receive at least four years. Until the mandate takes effect, vehicles sold without AM would need to carry a clear disclosure, and manufacturers could not charge an additional fee for AM access.

The legislation also calls for a Government Accountability Office study comparing AM with other emergency communications technologies, including whether alternatives can ensure emergency messages reach at least 90% of the U.S. population during a crisis, including at night. DOT, FEMA and the FCC would subsequently review the mandate at least every five years.

While much of the floor debate focused on hurricanes, tornadoes and emergency communications, Wisconsin Republican Glenn Grothman offered a more everyday argument for keeping AM in the dashboard.

“Can you imagine spending $60,000 on a new car and not getting AM radio? Why don't you just take the transmission too?” Grothman said. He noted that losing AM in his Wisconsin market would mean losing access to everything from Brewers baseball to oldies. “They expect me to sit at home and wait for the Brewers game to end before I get in the car? That's ridiculous,” Grothman said, before adding: “I want to hear my Dave Clark Five, Beach Boys and the Supremes if I buy a new car.”

Senate Focus

National Association of Broadcasters President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt called the House action “a significant step forward” for millions of Americans who depend on AM for emergency information, news and local programming.

The NAB’s legislative focus now shifts to the Senate, where the bill passed out of committee in the Senate in Feb. 2025. If or when it does reach the floor for a vote, widespread support awaits with 61 Senators backing the legislation — enough to block any potential filibuster attempt.