Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) believes in the need for AM radio, and on July 27 he praised the Senate Commerce Committee's advancement of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. According to a release by his Cruz's office, the bipartisan legislation that he created with U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) calls for automakers to keep AM radio in vehicles.
“AM radio serves a critical function during emergencies,” Cruz said in the release. “It reliably gets important information to the public, which is why several former FEMA administrators and representatives of the emergency response community have called for AM radio to remain in vehicles.”
According to the junior senator, AM radio is also essential “to free expression and viewpoint diversity.”
“With low barriers to entry, it allows Americans, especially conservatives, to communicate their points of view and help free speech flourish,” Cruz said in the release. “I am proud to have worked with Sen. Markey and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle on this legislation. It will have a big impact on our constituents who make AM radio part of their daily lives."
Ford announced that it will keep AM radio in its vehicles in 2024. Following this the Senators sent letters to a number of automakers that either have had them removed or plans are in place to remove. In the letter Cruz and Markey urged them to keep the AM radios in their vehicles.
According to a report by Audacy, the measure came about in May after several automakers removed AM radio from electric vehicles (EV). More than 80 million Americans tune in to AM radio, with 40% listening in their vehicles, according to Cruz’s office. In Texas there are 88,000 jobs in the radio business and the release added that more than one million Americans worked for local radio as of 2018.
Tech Times reported that the next step for the bill is a full vote on the Senate floor, though an exact date hasn’t been set. Citing Reuters, the website reported that the legislation has companion measures in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cruz’s release said that 27 Republican and Democratic Senate members are on the bill.