New cars must have AM radio for emergency alerts.

What it does

The bill tells the Department of Transportation to make a rule. The rule says all new cars sold in the U.S. must have AM radio receivers built in. Car makers can use digital AM receivers. Most car makers have 2 years to follow the rule. Smaller car makers have 4 years.

Who it affects

People who buy new cars will get AM radio in them. There is no extra cost. Car makers must add AM radios to their vehicles. Emergency officials can use AM radio to send alerts during crises.

One thing to notice

The federal government sets one rule for all cars. States cannot make their own different rules about AM radio in cars.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

317 cosponsors: 159 Republicans, 158 Democrats.

• Feb 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 5, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and House Committee on Homeland Security · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit”
• Sep 17, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Sep 17, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 50 - 1”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

37 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 59 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $25,770,357 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 6 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 98% of bills with any report.

Gus Bilirakis, who sponsored the bill, received $988,250 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• National Association of Broadcasters — $5,600,000 in 2 reports
• AARP — $5,300,000 in 1 report
• Toyota Motor North America Inc (tma) — $3,483,687 in 2 reports
• General Motors Company — $3,150,000 in 1 report
• Consumer Technology Association — $2,450,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• Department of Transportation — The federal agency that makes rules about cars and roads.
• AM radio — A type of radio that works without internet or cell signals.
• emergency alerts — Messages sent to warn people about danger, like storms or accidents.
• digital AM receivers — Modern devices that pick up AM radio signals using computer technology.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.