PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 208.
Congressional Research Service
Version 25 · Reported to Senate · Sep 12, 2023
AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023
This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a rule that requires all new passenger motor vehicles to have devices that can access AM broadcast stations installed as standard equipment. (AM broadcast stations are often used to deliver emergency alerts and news and entertainment programming; some newer vehicles do not include AM equipment.)
Specifically, this bill applies to passenger motor vehicles (1) manufactured in the United States, imported into the United States, or shipped in interstate commerce; and (2) manufactured after the rule's effective date.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The DOT rule must require all such vehicles to have devices that can receive signals and play content transmitted by AM broadcast stations or digital audio AM broadcast stations installed as standard equipment.
Prior to the rule's effective date, manufacturers that do not include devices that can access AM broadcast stations as standard equipment (1) must inform purchasers of this fact through clear and conspicuous labeling; and (2) may not charge an additional or separate monetary fee, payment, or surcharge for AM broadcast station access.
DOT may assess civil penalties against any manufacturer that fails to comply with the mandate. The Department of Justice may also bring a civil action to enjoin a violation.
Further, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on the dissemination of emergency alerts and warnings to the public, including (1) an assessment of AM broadcast stations relative to other Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) communication technologies, and (2) the integration of new and emerging technologies and communication platforms into the IPAWS framework.
People & committees
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] · D–MA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 208.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 24, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1669 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1669 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1669 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1669 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.