By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

Legislation that ensures Americans continue to have free access to news, weather, entertainment and emergency alerts via AM radio has passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act cleared the House in a voice vote Tuesday evening.

The legislation requires the Department of Transportation to issue a rule requiring AM Radio capabilities to be standard in all new passenger vehicles without an additional fee.

“AM Broadcast Radio is a critical public safety resource, and our emergency alert system is based around those signals,” U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “During a national disaster or a natural disaster, many people find their electricity out, cell service out, and have a limited ability to get information, unfortunately. In many instances, people end up listening to the radio in their car for their only source of information.”

If a vehicle doesn’t have AM radio capabilities, because a car manufacturer did not include them, Bilirakis said that takes away a vital emergency communication tool and leaves people vulnerable when seconds matter.

“By ensuring automakers include AM radio broadcast radio in their cars, we can protect Americans and ensure this critical service remains available,” Bilirakis said.

The bill applies to passenger vehicles manufactured in the United States, imported into the U.S. or shipped in interstate commerce that are manufactured after the rule’s effective date.

The legislation says the rule must require all such vehicles to have devices that can receive signals and play content transmitted by AM stations or digital audio AM stations installed as standard equipment made easily accessible to drivers.

“When severe weather strikes and the power goes out, Texans need communications they can count on,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a cosponsor of the Senate version of the bill, posted on X after the vote. “AM radio remains a critical lifeline for emergency alerts, local news, weather updates and other vital information.”

U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) spoke in favor of the legislation on the House floor, saying there are a network of AM broadcast stations specifically designed to withstand major weather events and other disasters in order to give people the information they need in an emergency.

“These stations act as primary entry points for the nation’s emergency alert system, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency invests millions of dollars every year to keep those AM stations ready to broadcast in emergencies,” Fletcher said. Given how important AM radio is, especially in times of emergencies, we cannot risk removing it from our vehicles, which multiple automakers have done.”

AM radio provides more than just emergency alerts. According to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), AM radio is an extremely popular way for Americans to stay connected to local and national news, sports and entertainment with an estimated tens of millions of weekly listeners.

AM radio is also highly important to agricultural communities. According to NAB, AM stations also provide weather updates, crop reports and other important information to farmers and ranchers. That includes programming provided by the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Radio Network to around 150 stations.

AM stations also serve communities of color and underrepresented groups with in-language, religious and other community-oriented niche programming, per NAB.

Despite these benefits, some automakers have recently removed AM radio as a feature on electric vehicles and signaled they may remove it from new models of other vehicles in the future.

If passed into law, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act would allow DOT to assess civil penalties for violations of the rule and would allow the Department of Justice to also bring civil action to enjoin a violation.

DOT’s authority under the legislation would expire 10 years after the bill is enacted.

The bill also calls on the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the dissemination of emergency alerts to the public, including conducting an assessment of AM broadcast stations relative to other Integrated Public Alert and Warning System communication technologies.

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act now awaits consideration in the U.S. Senate.

“I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to get it across the finish line,” Cruz said.

The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the legislation.