Cruz Aims To Ensure AM Talk Format Remains Available

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is leading a bipartisan push in Congress to force auto manufacturers to keep AM radio in their cars as some companies have started removing the receivers from electric vehicles, reports The Houston Chronicle.

Carmakers have said AM radio receivers can interfere with the vehicle batteries, and eight manufacturers, including Mazda, Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen, have started removing analog AM radio from their vehicles.

But lawmakers say AM radio is an important source of local news, sports and weather, as well as emergency updates.

Ted Cruz

AM radio reaches more than 4.6 million Texans, according to Nielsen data provided by Cruz’s office. That includes more than 1.5 million around Houston, roughly a quarter of radio listeners in the market, and nearly 800,000 around San Antonio, almost 40 percent of that radio market.

The AM radio push is an unusual effort for the Texas Republican, who says he is “skeptical” of government mandates. But Cruz says he believes the shift away from AM is an effort to “silence conservative voices” that dominate the talk radio airwaves.

It is also the latest example of Cruz using his position as the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to push back on private companies he believes are trampling conservatives.

“I also think more broadly than that,” Cruz said. “I think there’s a reason big car companies were open to taking down AM radio, which is AM radio is where a lot of talk radio is found, and talk radio is overwhelmingly conservative. And let’s be clear: Big business doesn’t like things that are overwhelmingly conservative.”