Congress is weighing a mandate to keep AM radio in new cars after the House overwhelmingly passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 last month, Cronkite News reported, republished by Arizona Daily Independent (https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2026/10/18/congress-is-weighing-an-am-radio-mandate/; original: https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2026/10/17/am-radio-mandate/). The bill now awaits action in the Senate.
The stakes are local. Broadcasters and public-safety voices told Congress AM remains a lifeline across Arizona's vast rural stretches and multilingual communities, carrying emergency alerts, news, and Navajo- and Spanish-language programming, according to Cronkite News reporting by Sophia Braccio.
Automakers have been dropping AM from some electric vehicles due to interference, including BMW, Mazda, Tesla, and Volkswagen over the past decade, Cronkite News noted. Industry groups counter that a mandate is unnecessary. Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Technology Association called the bill an unnecessary government mandate and a wasteful radio tax, arguing Americans have other options and many carmakers will keep AM anyway.
John Bozzella of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation told a House subcommittee in April 2024 that automakers weigh safety, consumer preferences, testing, and regulatory analysis when choosing features, per his witness statement cited by Cronkite News. The Alliance did not respond to a request for comment after the House vote, Cronkite News reported.
Supporters frame AM as core infrastructure. Seven former FEMA leaders urged then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in 2023 to keep AM in cars because the National Public Warning System hinges on its long-distance and resilient signal, Cronkite News reported.
Arizona operators described why. Don Brown, who owns AM/FM stations in Nevada and Arizona, said his Phoenix AM signal reaches from Wickenburg to Casa Grande and warned that without oversight, manufacturers could steer drivers into subscriber-only audio. You're not going to hear it on your Spotify during a crisis, Brown said, per Cronkite News.
On tribal lands, the reach matters most. Loris Taylor of Native Public Media said unreliable cellular and power in severe storms make AM essential. Justin C. Ahasteen, then with the Navajo Nation Washington Office, told lawmakers KTNN's AM signal spans the 27,000-plus square miles of the Nation, serving remote communities in Navajo, according to his 2024 testimony reported by Cronkite News.
In metro Phoenix, AM still anchors daily information. Laura Madrid, who runs an AM/FM station broadcasting live Spanish news countywide, said her station has kept the public informed since 2005 on policy, the pandemic, and the recession, connecting listeners to resources, Cronkite News reported.
The current bill would require AM in new passenger vehicles, bar subscription fees for access, and mandate clear labels on pre-rule models without AM, according to Cronkite News. It orders the Government Accountability Office to study emergency alert dissemination and sunsets the mandate after 10 years.
