The record

LegislationLegislation· Sep 2026
HR 979 Passed House — in Senate

Sponsored by Gus M. Bilirakis (R)

AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025

Requires new cars to include AM radio as standard equipment to receive emergency alerts.

Tradeoff

Mandates AM radio in all new vehicles starting within 2 years of the rule's issue (4 years for smaller manufacturers). No direct offset; manufacturers absorb the cost.

What's in it

See official bill text

Costs less than $500,000 in federal enforcement over 2026-2036; imposes private-sector mandate costing several million dollars annually on vehicle manufacturers.

The $1 million federal figure is just the cost to DOT and GAO to write and enforce the rule; the policy's real impact is the several-million-dollar annual cost to vehicle manufacturers to add or update AM radio equipment, primarily affecting electric vehicle producers.

H.R. 979, AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 · Mar 2026

Passed the House by on September 15, 2026 — now in the Senate.

  1. House

    Introduced

    (Feb 5, 2025)

  2. House

    Committee on Energy and Commerce(Feb 5, 2025)

    The bill went to more than one committee at the same time.

  3. House

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce voted to send it to the floor

    Reported 50 - 1(Sep 17, 2025)

    Committee report H. Rept. 119-379, Part I.

  4. House

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Sep 15, 2026)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. Senate

    Received from the House

    Received(Sep 16, 2026)