II 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 315 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring access 

to AM broadcast stations in passenger motor vehicles, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2025 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. CRUZ, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BANKS, Mr. BARRASSO, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. BRITT, Mr. BUDD, 

Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. COONS, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRAMER, 

Mr. DAINES, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. HASSAN, 

Mr. HAWLEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. JUSTICE, Mr. KING, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. LUJA ́N, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. MARSHALL, 

Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MORAN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. REED, Mr. RICKETTS, 

Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

SHEEHY, Ms. SMITH, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. 

WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule 

requiring access to AM broadcast stations in passenger 

motor vehicles, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘AM Radio for Every 

5 Vehicle Act of 2025’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency. 

6 (2) AM BROADCAST BAND.—The term ‘‘AM 

7 broadcast band’’ means the band of frequencies be8 tween 535 kilohertz and 1705 kilohertz, inclusive. 

9 (3) AM BROADCAST STATION.—The term ‘‘AM 

10 broadcast station’’ means a radio broadcast sta11 tion— 

12 (A) licensed by the Federal Communica13 tions Commission for the dissemination of radio 

14 communications intended to be received by the 

15 public; and 

16 (B) operated on a channel in the AM 

17 broadcast band. 

18 (4) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON19 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con20 gress’’ means— 

21 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

22 and Transportation of the Senate; 

23 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

24 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

25 (C) the Committee on Transportation and 

26 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

2 of the House of Representatives; and 

3 (E) the Committee on Energy and Com4 merce of the House of Representatives. 

5 (5) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The term 

6 ‘‘Comptroller General’’ means the Comptroller Gen7 eral of the United States. 

8 (6) DEVICE.—The term ‘‘device’’ means a piece 

9 of equipment or an apparatus that is designed— 

10 (A) to receive signals transmitted by a 

11 radio broadcast station; and 

12 (B) to play back content or programming 

13 derived from those signals. 

14 (7) DIGITAL AUDIO AM BROADCAST STATION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘digital 

16 audio AM broadcast station’’ means an AM 

17 broadcast station that uses an In Band On 

18 Channel DAB System (as defined in section 

19 73.402 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations 

20 (or a successor regulation)) for broadcasting 

21 purposes. 

22 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘digital audio 

23 AM broadcast station’’ does not include an All24 digital AM station (as defined in section 73.402 


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1 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 

2 successor regulation)). 

3 (8) IPAWS.—The term ‘‘IPAWS’’ means the 

4 public alert and warning system of the United 

5 States described in section 526 of the Homeland Se6 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 321o). 

7 (9) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufac8 turer’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

9 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

10 (10) PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term 

11 ‘‘passenger motor vehicle’’ has the meaning given 

12 the term in section 32101 of title 49, United States 

13 Code. 

14 (11) RADIO BROADCAST STATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘radio broadcast station’’ has the meaning given the 

16 term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 

17 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

18 (12) RADIO STATION LICENSE.—The term 

19 ‘‘radio station license’’ has the meaning given the 

20 term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 

21 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

22 (13) RECEIVE.—The term ‘‘receive’’ means to 

23 receive a broadcast signal via over-the-air trans24 mission. 


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1 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Transportation. 

3 (15) SIGNAL.—The term ‘‘signal’’ means radio 

4 frequency energy that a holder of a radio station li5 cense intentionally emits or causes to be emitted at 

6 a specified frequency for the purpose of transmitting 

7 content or programming to the public. 

8 (16) STANDARD EQUIPMENT.—The term 

9 ‘‘standard equipment’’ means motor vehicle equip10 ment (as defined in section 30102(a) of title 49, 

11 United States Code) that— 

12 (A) is installed as a system, part, or com13 ponent of a passenger motor vehicle as origi14 nally manufactured; and 

15 (B) the manufacturer of the passenger 

16 motor vehicle recommends or authorizes to be 

17 included in the passenger motor vehicle for no 

18 additional or separate monetary fee, payment, 

19 or surcharge, beyond the base price of the pas20 senger motor vehicle. 

21 (17) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 

22 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

23 each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 

24 United States, and each federally recognized Indian 

25 Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 3. AM BROADCAST STATIONS RULE. 

2 (a) RULE REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con4 sultation with the Administrator and the Federal Commu5 nications Commission, shall issue a rule— 

6 (1) requiring devices that can receive signals 

7 and play content transmitted by AM broadcast sta8 tions be installed as standard equipment in pas9 senger motor vehicles— 

10 (A) manufactured in the United States for 

11 sale in the United States, imported into the 

12 United States, or shipped in interstate com13 merce; and 

14 (B) manufactured after the effective date 

15 of the rule; 

16 (2) requiring access to AM broadcast stations 

17 through the devices required under paragraph (1) in 

18 a manner that is easily accessible to drivers; and 

19 (3) allowing a manufacturer to comply with 

20 that rule by installing devices as described in para21 graph (1) that can receive signals and play content 

22 transmitted by digital audio AM broadcast stations. 

23 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), in issuing the rule required under sub26 section (a), the Secretary shall establish an effective 


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1 date for the rule that is not less than 2 years, but 

2 not more than 3 years, after the date on which the 

3 rule is issued. 

4 (2) CERTAIN MANUFACTURERS.—In issuing the 

5 rule required under subsection (a), the Secretary 

6 shall establish an effective date for the rule that is 

7 at least 4 years after the date on which the rule is 

8 issued with respect to manufacturers that manufac9 tured not more than 40,000 passenger motor vehi10 cles for sale in the United States in 2022. 

11 (c) INTERIM REQUIREMENT.—For passenger motor 

12 vehicles manufactured after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act and manufactured in the United States for sale in 

14 the United States, imported into the United States, or 

15 shipped in interstate commerce during the period begin16 ning on the day after the date of enactment of this Act 

17 and ending on the day before the effective date of the rule 

18 issued under subsection (a) that do not include devices 

19 that can receive signals and play content transmitted by 

20 AM broadcast stations, the manufacturer of the passenger 

21 motor vehicles— 

22 (1) shall provide clear and conspicuous labeling 

23 to inform purchasers of those passenger motor vehi24 cles that the passenger motor vehicles do not include 


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1 devices that can receive signals and play content 

2 transmitted by AM broadcast stations; and 

3 (2) may not charge an additional or separate 

4 monetary fee, payment, or surcharge, beyond the 

5 base price of the passenger motor vehicles, for access 

6 to AM broadcast stations for the period described in 

7 this subsection. 

8 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—After the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, a State or a political subdivision 

10 of a State may not prescribe or continue in effect a law, 

11 regulation, or other requirement applicable to access to 

12 AM broadcast stations in passenger motor vehicles. 

13 (e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

14 (1) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who violates 

15 the rule issued under subsection (a) shall be liable 

16 to the United States Government for a civil penalty 

17 under section 30165(a)(1) of title 49, United States 

18 Code, as if that rule were a regulation described in 

19 that section. 

20 (2) CIVIL ACTION.—The Attorney General may 

21 bring a civil action under section 30163 of title 49, 

22 United States Code, in an appropriate district court 

23 of the United States to enjoin a violation of the rule 

24 issued under subsection (a) of this section, as if that 


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1 rule were a regulation described in subsection (a)(1) 

2 of that section 30163. 

3 (f) GAO STUDY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 

5 shall conduct a comprehensive study on dissemi6 nating emergency alerts and warnings to the public. 

7 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The study required 

8 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

9 (A) an assessment of— 

10 (i) the role of passenger motor vehi11 cles in IPAWS communications, including 

12 by providing access to AM broadcast sta13 tions; 

14 (ii) the advantages, effectiveness, limi15 tations, resilience, and accessibility of ex16 isting IPAWS communication technologies, 

17 including AM broadcast stations in pas18 senger motor vehicles; 

19 (iii) the advantages, effectiveness, lim20 itations, resilience, and accessibility of AM 

21 broadcast stations relative to other IPAWS 

22 communication technologies in passenger 

23 motor vehicles; and 

24 (iv) whether other IPAWS commu25 nication technologies are capable of ensurVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Feb 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S315.IS S315

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1 ing the President (or a designee) can reach 

2 at least 90 percent of the population of the 

3 United States at a time of crisis, including 

4 at night; and 

5 (B) a description of any ongoing efforts to 

6 integrate new and emerging technologies and 

7 communication platforms into the IPAWS 

8 framework. 

9 (3) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In conducting 

10 the study required under paragraph (1), the Comp11 troller General shall consult with— 

12 (A) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

13 (B) the Federal Communications Commis14 sion; 

15 (C) the National Telecommunications and 

16 Information Administration; 

17 (D) the Secretary; 

18 (E) Federal, State, Tribal, territorial, and 

19 local emergency management officials; 

20 (F) first responders; 

21 (G) technology experts in resilience and ac22 cessibility; 

23 (H) radio broadcasters; 

24 (I) manufacturers of passenger motor vehi25 cles; and 


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1 (J) other relevant stakeholders, as deter2 mined by the Comptroller General. 

3 (4) BRIEFING AND REPORT.— 

4 (A) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

6 Comptroller General shall brief the appropriate 

7 committees of Congress on the results of the 

8 study required by paragraph (1), including rec9 ommendations for legislation and administrative 

10 action as the Comptroller General determines 

11 appropriate. 

12 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date on which the Comptroller General 

14 provides the briefing required under subpara15 graph (A), the Comptroller General shall sub16 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

17 a report describing the results of the study re18 quired under paragraph (1), including rec19 ommendations for legislation and administrative 

20 action as the Comptroller General determines 

21 appropriate. 

22 (g) REVIEW.—Not less frequently than once every 5 

23 years after the date on which the Secretary issues the rule 

24 required by subsection (a), the Secretary, in coordination 

25 with the Administrator and the Federal Communications 


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1 Commission, shall submit to the appropriate committees 

2 of Congress a report that shall include an assessment of— 

3 (1) the impacts of the rule issued under that 

4 subsection, including the impacts on public safety; 

5 and 

6 (2) possible changes to IPAWS communication 

7 technologies that would enable resilient and acces8 sible alerts to drivers and passengers of passenger 

9 motor vehicles. 

10 (h) SUNSET.—The authority of the Secretary to issue 

11 the rule required by subsection (a) shall expire on the date 

12 that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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