Federal Bill of Shame – October 2026: the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979)

Introduced by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979) would direct the Department of Transportation (DOT) to require that every new passenger vehicle sold in the United States come with AM radio as standard equipment.

Rather than letting consumers and carmakers decide what belongs on a dashboard, the bill writes a century-old technology into federal vehicle regulation and puts Washington in the business of propping up a shrinking radio industry.

The market has already delivered its verdict. More than 340 AM stations have shut down since 2015, and automakers have started responding accordingly, as drivers shift to FM, satellite radio, streaming, and podcasts. Some manufacturers already offer consumers AM programming through streaming apps. H.R. 979 ignores those choices and forces automakers to keep installing AM hardware whether customers want it or not.

These regulatory costs will be passed along to consumers. Since the bill requires AM radio to be built into the base price and prohibits a separate charge for it, every new car buyer will pay for the feature, even those who never listen to radio. The result is federally mandated price hikes on cars, enforced with the same civil penalties the DOT uses for vehicle safety violations.

In addition, Congress itself concedes the risk of the mandate stifling innovation. The legislation requires DOT to report on potential harms to automotive innovation and to vehicles with automated driving systems. It gives small manufacturers extra years to comply, an admission that the rule weighs hardest on startups and new entrants. The bill even dictates which digital AM formats qualify, with lawmakers choosing technical standards that engineers and consumers should decide.

Supporters claim AM radio is critical to the nation’s emergency warning system, yet the bill orders the Government Accountability Office to study whether other technologies can reach at least 90 percent of the population in a crisis, on the same one-year deadline DOT faces to issue the rule. Congress is mandating the solution before collecting the evidence, and the bill’s eight-year sunset suggests even its sponsors doubt it will be needed for long.

H.R. 979 passed the House on September 15. A Senate companion, S. 315, sponsored by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), awaits a floor vote. The Senate should leave it there. A mandate that raises costs for every car buyer, slows innovation, and moves ahead of its own evidence does not deserve a vote.

It is for these reasons that the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act is TPA’s Federal Bill of Shame for October 2026.