Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) requested a unanimous consent decision on his AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, that seeks to require that car manufacturers keep AM Radio in their vehicles.
AM radio is “enormously important to millions of Texans,” Cruz told The Texas Tribune in October, noting the platform is essential for conservative talk radio.
“I think silencing those voices is enormously harmful to both free speech but also to a robust democratic process,” Cruz said.
“AM radio is a haven for people to speak, even if their views are disfavored by the political ruling class,” Cruz said on the Senate floor. “Rush Limbaugh would not exist without AM radio. The views of my friend, [Rand Paul] the senator from Kentucky, would be heard by many fewer people without AM radio.”
Cruz also argued this week that AM radio “is consistently the most resilient form of communication” during times of disaster, noting that AM radio is used by federal, state and local agencies to communicate in times of disaster when other forms of technology prove to be unreliable.
Cruz partnered with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) in May to introduce the legislation, which had broad bipartisan support in the Senate.
Cruz’s bill puts him at odds with fellow Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) who said that the mandate on private companies would be an overstep of congressional power. On Tuesday, Paul voted to block the bill from passage.