He says the Act is likely to remove provisions enabling service members to repair their own equipment entirely, and replace it with a data-as-a-service subscription plan that benefits defense contractors.
Right to repair has become a complex issue in the military. If a drone, fighter jet, or even a stove on a Navy ship fails, U.S. service members in the field can’t always fix it themselves. In many cases, they need to call a qualified repair person approved by the manufacturer and bring them to the site to fix the problem.
The Army would like to alleviate that problem by giving personnel the equipment and materials to make their own repairs in the field, and has repeatedly called on Congress to enable it to do so. However, some in Washington are trying to emasculate the proposed right-to-repair provisions — a move that has been advocated by defense contractor groups that sell the military the stuff they want to fix as well as the means to fix it, and would stand to lose if the military were given the right to make its own repairs.
Separate versions of the NDAA have passed the Senate and House and the process is now in the conferencing stage, where lawmakers meet to combine the versions into one bill. Final language is expected by next week; After voting in both houses of Congress, it will head to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a longtime supporter of repairability legislation, added Sec. 836 in the Senate version of the NDAA, a provision that takes inspiration from the Warrior Right to Repair Act introduced in July. It asked contractors to provide the U.S. Department of Defense with “diagnosis, maintenance, and repair authority for covered defense equipment.”
A similar provision was also added to the House version of the NDAA, which was introduced by Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican from Alabama and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. (Ranking Member Adam Smith of Washington also led the bill.) Sec. 863 “Contractors are required to provide reasonable access to repair materials.” In short, it will empower service members to get their stuff fixed without relying on the manufacturer, saving time and taxpayer money.
“Military leaders, service members, the White House and hundreds of small businesses all agree that these bipartisan right-to-repair reforms are desperately needed,” Warren told Roll Call last week. “The giant defense contractors fighting these reforms are more interested in inventing new ways to squeeze our military and taxpayers than in strengthening our national security.”
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