📻 CONGRESS SAYS DON'T TOUCH THAT AM DIAL: NEW CARS COULD BE REQUIRED TO KEEP AM RADIO

📍WASHINGTON — While automakers keep loading dashboards with apps, subscriptions, touchscreens and enough technology to make your car feel like a rolling iPad, Congress is fighting to make sure one old-school feature doesn't disappear:

AM RADIO. 📻

The U.S. House has passed the bipartisan AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, legislation that would require automakers to provide access to AM broadcast stations in new passenger vehicles without charging drivers an additional fee.

And no, the bill isn't law yet.

After passing the House on September 15, 2026, H.R. 979 was received by the Senate and placed on its legislative calendar.

🚗 WHY IS CONGRESS INVOLVED?

Several automakers have removed AM receivers from some vehicles, particularly electric models. Manufacturers have cited electrical interference as one of the technical challenges affecting AM reception in EVs.

But supporters of the legislation argue this is bigger than whether somebody wants to hear sports, talk radio or the news during the morning commute.

They're talking about emergencies.

AM stations are part of the nation's emergency communications infrastructure, including stations designed to remain operational during severe weather and major disasters. FEMA invests in maintaining parts of that emergency broadcast network.

When cell towers are overloaded...

When internet service disappears...

When the power goes out...

That little AM button can suddenly become a whole lot more important.

📻 WHAT WOULD THE BILL ACTUALLY DO?

If enacted, the legislation would direct the Department of Transportation to create rules requiring automakers to make AM broadcast radio standard and easily accessible equipment in new vehicles sold in the United States.

And here's the important part:

Automakers couldn't charge you an extra subscription, fee or surcharge just to get it.

Because apparently we've reached the point where Congress has to make sure somebody doesn't eventually try to sell us:

AM Radio Premium Plus for $8.99 a month. 😭

🏛️ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The Senate still has to act.

The proposal has significant bipartisan backing there. Senate Commerce Committee leaders Ted Cruz and Edward Markey said in September that the Senate version had accumulated 60 cosponsors, and they urged the chamber to move the legislation forward after the House vote.

If Congress ultimately approves matching legislation, it would then go to the president before becoming law.

So don't run outside telling everybody "AM RADIO IS REQUIRED IN EVERY CAR NOW!"

Not yet.

But Congress has moved the idea considerably closer to becoming federal law.

💥 THE BOOM BOTTOM LINE

Streaming is convenient.

Satellite radio is convenient.

Your phone can give you practically every song ever recorded.

But when technology starts acting crazy during a major emergency, sometimes the oldest thing in the dashboard becomes the thing that still works.

AM radio isn't sexy.

It doesn't have an algorithm.

It doesn't care what you listened to yesterday.

But Congress is making the case that when everything else goes down, that old AM signal might still be saying:

"WE'RE STILL HERE." 📻

And coming from RADIO people?

We understand that assignment.

730 BOOM RADIO

IT HITS DIFFERENT. EVERY TIME. BOOM! 💥