[Senate Report 119-11]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 39
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-11
_______________________________________________________________________
AM RADIO FOR EVERY VEHICLE ACT
OF 2025
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND
TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 315
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
April 3, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2025
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred nineteenth congress
first session
TED CRUZ, Texas, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
TODD YOUNG, Indiana TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
TED BUDD, North Carolina JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
ERIC SCHMITT, Missouri BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico
JOHN CURTIS, Utah JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado
BERNIE MORENO, Ohio JOHN FETTERMAN, Pennsylvania
TIM SHEEHY, Montana ANDY KIM, New Jersey
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
Brad Grantz, Majority Staff Director
Lila Harper Helms, Democratic Staff Director
Calendar No. 39
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-11
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AM RADIO FOR EVERY VEHICLE ACT OF 2025
_______
April 3, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Cruz, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 315]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (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, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends
that the bill, as amended, do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 315, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act
of 2025, is to require the Secretary of Transportation to issue
a rule requiring AM radio in passenger motor vehicles and to
require a study about the role of AM radio in passenger motor
vehicles to transmit public alerts and warnings.
BACKGROUND AND NEEDS
AM, or amplitude modulation, radio stations serve a
critical role in our Emergency Alert System (EAS), which
broadcasts warnings to the public. EAS distributes emergency
alerts via multiple broadcast, cable, and satellite systems,
beginning with 72 National Public Warning System primary entry
point (PEP) stations.\1\ Eighty-six percent of these stations
are broadcast AM stations,\2\ making AM radio stations the
typical initial points of contact for emergency alerts that are
then retransmitted to other electronic media.
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\1\Dana A. Scherer, AM Broadcast Radio in Motor Vehicles,
Congressional Research Service, R48315, p. 9, updated February 11, 2025
(https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48315/
R48315.6.pdf) (citing Federal Communications Commission, Report:
October 4, 2023 Nationwide Emergency Alert Test, p. 29, June 2024
(https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-403500A1.pdf).
\2\Scherer, supra note 1, at 10 (citing ``Emergency Management/
Tools for Practitioners/Integrated Public Alert and Warning System
(IPAWS)/ Broadcasters and Wireless Providers, Federal Emergency
Management Agency,'' last updated December 14, 2023 (https://
www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/integrated-public-alert-
warning-system/broadcasters-wireless).
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AM radio, therefore, is critical to domestic emergency
management. With this in mind, Congress directed the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2015 to upgrade
PEP stations across the country to maintain broadcast radio
services during emergencies.\3\ PEPs are designed to withstand
natural disasters and acts of terrorism, and are equipped with
backup communication devices and power generators to allow for
continuity of service.\4\ (Because it is a nationwide service,
SiriusXM satellite radio backs up the PEP system for nationwide
emergency alerts but not for State and local alerts.)\5\
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\3\Scherer, supra note 1, at 10 (citing Public Law 114 143, section
2(d) (6 U.S.C. 321o)).
\4\Scherer, supra note 1, at 10 (citing FEMA and KIRO-AM Seattle to
Unveil New Emergency Broadcast Studio, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, November 18, 2021 (https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20211118/
fema-and-kiro-am-seattle-unveil-new-emergency-broadcast-studio).
\5\Scherer, supra note 1, at 10.
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Some critics of AM radio's role in EAS say it is highly
susceptible to interference.\6\ In response to a December 2022
letter from Senator Edward Markey questioning automakers'
(i.e., original equipment manufacturers or OEMs) decision not
to include broadcast AM radio in battery-powered electric
vehicles, several OEMs responded that new technology used in
electric vehicles (EVs) interferes with AM broadcast signals
with varied explanations about engineering counter measures to
avoid AM radio or car performance issues or decisions to remove
AM radio from certain models.\7\ For example, BMW said it
decided not to include AM radio in recent EV and hybrid models
because ``electromagnetic interference [EMI] creates poor
analog AM radio reception quality'' and the technology is
outdated.\8\ However, other automakers disagreed. Kia said it
was ``not aware of any issues with [EMI] with AM signals from
our EVs.''\9\ Ford, after initially removing AM radio,\10\
reversed its decision in May 2023 after coming to recognize
``the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the
emergency alert system.''\11\
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\6\Scherer, supra note 1, at 1 (citing Federal Communications
Commission, Revitalization of the AM Radio Service, Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, FCC 13 139, FCC Record, vol. 28 (2013), no. 18, pp. 15221
15223 (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc282355/m1/721/
?q=fcc%20record%20volume%2028).
\7\Scherer, supra note 1, at 4-5 (citing Senator Edward J. Markey,
``Senator Markey Criticizes Eight Automakers for Removing Broadcast AM
Radio from Vehicles,'' press release, March 8, 2023 (https://
www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-criticizes-
eight-automakers-for-removing-broadcast-am-radio-from-vehicles).
\8\Letter from Adam McNeill, vice president of engineering, BMW of
North America, LLC, BMW Group Company, to Senator Edward J. Markey,
December 20, 2022 (https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
letters_of_automaker_responses_-_030823pdf.pdf).
\9\Letter from Christopher Wenk, vice president of government
affairs, Kia Corporation, to Senator Edward J. Markey, December 22,
2022 (https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
letters_of_automaker_responses_-_030823pdf.pdf).
\10\Supra note 7.
\11\Jim Farley (@jimfarley98), X, May 23, 2023 (https://x.com/
jimfarley98/status/1661024295110463491).
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Given the Federal investments in upgrading and equipping
PEP stations around the United States, as well as the role AM
radio stations play in the Integrated Public Alert and Warning
System (IPAWS) and during times of disaster and emergency
response, the Committee believes the decision by OEMs to remove
broadcast AM radio from vehicles presents a public safety
concern. To address this concern, this legislation requires the
Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a
rule requiring access to AM broadcast stations in passenger
motor vehicles at no additional charge.
The Committee is sensitive to the fact that technology
evolves over time, which may impact the need for this rule. To
address this possibility, the legislation also instructs the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the advantages,
effectiveness, limitations, resilience, and accessibility of
IPAWS via AM radio or other technologies in passenger motor
vehicles and efforts to integrate new or emerging technologies
in IPAWS.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
S. 315, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025, would
do the following:
Require the Secretary of the DOT, in consultation
with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to
issue a rule requiring devices that can receive signals
and play content transmitted by AM broadcast stations
be installed as standard equipment in passenger motor
vehicles manufactured in the United States, imported
into the United States, or shipped in interstate
commerce after the effective date of the rule.
Sunset the rule and its enforcement 10 years after
the date of enactment.
Require the GAO to study the role of passenger motor
vehicles in IPAWS, assess AM radio and alternative
communication systems for delivering emergency alerts
and critical public safety information distributed by
IPAWS to drivers and passengers of motor vehicles, and
describe efforts to integrate new and emerging
technologies into IPAWS. The GAO would be required to
brief the appropriate committees of Congress not later
than 1 year after enactment and provide a report not
later than 180 days after the briefing.
Require the Secretary of DOT, in coordination with
the FEMA Administrator and the FCC, to provide a report
not less frequently than once every 5 years after the
date on which the Secretary issues the rule, on the
impacts of the rule and possible changes to IPAWS
communication technologies that would enable resilient
and accessible alerts to drivers and passengers of
passenger motor vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 315 was introduced on January 29, 2025, by Senator
Markey (for himself and Senators Cruz, Baldwin, Banks,
Barrasso, Blackburn, Blumenthal, Britt, Budd, Cantwell, Capito,
Coons, Cotton, Cramer, Daines, Ernst, Fischer, Grassley,
Hassan, Hawley, Hirono, Hoeven, Justice, King, Klobuchar,
Lankford, Lujan, Lummis, Marshall, Merkley, Moran, Murphy,
Reed, Ricketts, Rounds, Sanders, Scott (FL), Shaheen, Sheehy,
Smith, Sullivan, Wyden, Young, and Wicker) and was referred to
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate. Senators Collins, Moreno, Murkowski, Mullin, Cortez
Masto, Rosen, Boozman, McCormick, Warren, Whitehouse, Crapo,
Ossoff, Kennedy, Tuberville, Moody, and Gillibrand are
additional cosponsors. On February 5, 2025, the Committee met
in open Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 315
reported favorably with an amendment (in the nature of a
substitute).
ESTIMATED COSTS
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 315 would direct the Department of Transportation (DOT)
to issue a rule requiring that AM broadcast stations be
accessible in all passenger motor vehicles imported into,
shipped within, or manufactured and sold within the United
States. (Passenger motor vehicles are those designed to
primarily carry their operator and up to 12 passengers; the
definition does not include motorcycles.) The bill would
require DOT to issue the rule within one year of enactment and
report to the Congress at least every five years on the rule's
effects. The rule would sunset 10 years after enactment.
Additionally, S. 315 would require the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) within 18 months of enactment to
report on the role AM broadcasts in passenger vehicles play in
disseminating emergency alerts through the Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System.
Using information on the cost of issuing similar rules and
reports, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost
DOT and GAO a total of $1 million over the 2025-2030 period.
Any spending would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds.
Additionally, S. 315 would authorize DOT to assess civil
penalties on manufacturers that fail to comply with the new
rule; such penalties are recorded as revenues. CBO estimates
that any additional revenues collected would total less than
$500,000 over the 2025-2035 period because the number of
violations would probably be small.
The bill would impose a private-sector mandate as defined
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) on the manufacturers
of passenger vehicles sold in the United States by requiring
them to provide access to AM broadcast stations at no cost to
the consumer. Prior to the regulation taking effect,
manufacturers would be required to provide access to AM
broadcast stations in unequipped vehicles at no cost if
requested.
CBO expects this would primarily affect manufacturers of
electric vehicles (EVs) who have removed, or announced plans to
remove, standard AM radio equipment from their vehicles. The
bill also would prohibit future phase-outs in other vehicles
where the equipment is standard, such as gasoline and diesel
passenger vehicles, while the rule is in effect.
Based on sales data for EVs, the legislation would require
manufacturers to update radio equipment in about 2 to 2.5
million vehicles each year. Since most EVs are already equipped
with FM radio, this would likely result in a small increase in
production costs to update the media system software and modify
other radio components. CBO estimates the total cost of the
mandate would be several millions of dollars each year the
requirement is in effect and would not exceed the annual
threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($206
million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).
As a result of the legislation, some manufacturers may
elect to make other modifications to the vehicle as well to
improve audio quality. These modifications are not considered
part of the costs to comply with the mandate because they would
be made at the discretion of the manufacturer.
The bill also would preempt state and local laws by
prohibiting those entities from enforcing any laws or
regulations pertaining to the access of AM broadcast stations
in passenger vehicles. CBO estimates that the preemption would
not result in an increase in or loss of revenue to state or
local governments and therefore would fall well below the
threshold in UMRA for intergovernmental mandates ($103 million
in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Willow Latham-
Proenca (for federal costs) and Brandon Lever (for mandates).
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
Number of Persons Covered
S. 315 is intended to bolster public safety and preserve
investments made by the Federal Government in the National
Public Warning System by requiring the Secretary of DOT to
issue a rule that broadcast AM radio be available in every
passenger motor vehicle manufactured in, imported into, or
shipped in interstate commerce within the United States for a
10-year period. The bill affects the manufacturers, importers,
and shippers of passenger motor vehicles in the United States,
all of which are already subject to regulation by DOT.
Therefore, the number of persons covered should be consistent
with the current levels of manufacturers, importers, and
shippers subject to regulation by DOT and its various modal
administrations like the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
Economic Impact
S. 315 would have minimal economic impact on OEMs and
individuals who purchase vehicles. While the bill would impose
an unfunded private-sector mandate on manufacturers of
passenger vehicles by requiring them to provide consumers
access to AM broadcast stations at no cost, the Congressional
Budget Office estimates the total cost of the mandate would not
exceed the annual threshold established in Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act for private-sector mandates. With regards to private
individuals or businesses, the bill would require
manufacturers, in the period between issuance of the rule and
its effective date, to provide clear and conspicuous labeling
to inform purchasers if a motor vehicle does not include AM
radio. Clear and conspicuous labeling is already required of
the manufacturers for various items like fuel economy.
Privacy
S. 315 would not have an impact on the personal privacy of
individuals.
Paperwork
The Committee anticipates some increase in paperwork
burdens resulting from the passage of this legislation. There
may be an increase of paperwork associated with manufacturers
documenting compliance with this law. The bill requires a GAO
report that would study disseminating emergency alerts and
warnings to the public and assess the role of passenger motor
vehicles in IPAWS communications.
The Secretary of the DOT, in coordination with the FEMA
Administrator and the FCC, would be required to provide a
report not less frequently than once every 5 years after the
date on which the Secretary issues the rule, on the impacts of
the rule and possible changes to IPAWS communication
technologies that would enable resilient and accessible alerts
to drivers and passengers of passenger motor vehicles.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as
the ``AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025''.
Section 2. Definitions.
This section would define the terms ``Administrator'', ``AM
broadcast band'', ``AM broadcast station'', ``appropriate
committees of Congress''', ``Comptroller General'', ``device'',
``digital audio AM broadcast station'', ``IPAWS'',
``manufacturer'', ``passenger motor vehicle'', ``radio
broadcast station'', ``radio station license'', ``receive'',
``Secretary'', ``signal'', ``standard equipment'', and
``State''.
Section 3. AM broadcast stations rule.
This section would require the Secretary of Transportation,
in consultation with the FEMA Administrator and the FCC, to
issue a rule requiring devices that can receive AM broadcast
signals and play content transmitted be installed as standard
equipment in passenger motor vehicles manufactured in the
United States, imported into the United States, or shipped in
interstate commerce after the effective date of the rule.
In the interim period between issuance of the rule and its
effective date, it would require car manufacturers to provide
clear and conspicuous labeling to inform purchasers if a
passenger motor vehicle does not include AM radio and prohibit
manufacturers from up charging for access to AM radio in the
interim period.
This section would also require GAO to conduct a study on
disseminating emergency alerts and warnings to the public,
including an assessment of IPAWS communications. GAO would be
required to brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the
results of the study not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment, as well as to submit a corresponding report not
later than 180 days after the date of the briefing. It would
also require the Secretary of DOT, in coordination with the
FEMA Administrator and the FCC, to provide a report not less
frequently than once every 5 years after the date on which the
Secretary issues the rule, on the impacts of the rule and
possible changes to IPAWS communication technologies that would
enable resilient and accessible alerts to drivers and
passengers of passenger motor vehicles.
Lastly, this section would sunset the rule after 10 years
from date of enactment.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.
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