WASHINGTON, September 16 — The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act is headed to the House floor this week, according to the advocacy group NRB, setting up a vote on legislation that would direct the Department of Transportation to require new passenger vehicles to include access to AM broadcasting at no additional cost to consumers and keep AM easy to find on the automobile dashboard. The bill, H.R. 979, carries 317 House cosponsors and 61 Senate cosponsors. In the House, Reps.
Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) are leading the effort. In the Senate, Sens.
Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are leading the companion measure, S. 315. The committee math is lopsided. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R. 979 in September by a 50–1 vote.
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced its companion in February 2025.
How the fight began
The push started when several automakers began removing AM receivers from certain models, especially electric vehicles. A coalition of Christian communicators, emergency managers, farm groups, and broadcasters pushed back, and that pushback became a bill. This is not the first attempt.
In July 2023, the first version cleared the Senate Commerce Committee. In September 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved its version.
But the 118th Congress adjourned before either chamber could hold a floor vote, forcing supporters to start over in the 119th Congress. Securing floor time was its own battle. For a time, supporters pursued multiple legislative vehicles, but when other potential paths encountered turbulence, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) made the call to bring the AM radio bill to the floor on its own.
Scalise recently explained that decision on Salem Media’s “Hugh Hewitt Show,” connecting the legislation to his experience during Hurricane Katrina, when extended power outages left people dependent on battery-powered and automobile radios for information. “The only way people were getting information was from their AM radios,” Scalise said.
The broader stakes
During the August recess, NRB and its partners engaged directly with the White House and House leadership to push for a vote before the election rather than risking another delay until a potential lame-duck session. NRB’s Nic Anderson, writing on September 10, 2026, said he believes H.R. 979 will pass overwhelmingly. He emphasized that the fight is not just about AM but about whether free, local, over-the-air broadcasting retains its place on the automobile dashboard.
For NRB members, the issue is personal: pastors sharing the Gospel, ministry programs helping parents, pro-life leaders telling stories of mothers who chose life, and local churches broadcasting Sunday services. When severe weather or natural disasters strike and power and cellular networks fail, AM stations equipped with backup power can continue carrying emergency warnings and lifesaving information.
Anderson also recently joined NAB’s “AirTime” podcast to discuss the issue. The focus has been on getting the bill through the House Suspension Calendar and ensuring that the White House and congressional leadership support the effort. Strategically, the calculus now rests on whether that coalition can convert its cosponsor advantage into a floor victory this week.
What this signals for broadcasters and automakers alike is that the dashboard is no longer a technical question — it is a political one.
