In combat zones, waiting on a civilian contractor to authorize or perform a basic repair can be the difference between mission success and catastrophic failure. I’ve seen it firsthand. When critical systems go down, you don’t have time to navigate bureaucratic red tape. You need to fix the asset as quickly as possible.
That’s why I’m urging Congress to pass Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) and Rep. Neal Dunn’s (R-FL) REPAIR Act, which will advance the Right to the Repair principles that the Trump administration has long sought to become law for both the military and everyday consumers.
Right to Repair means ensuring that users, whether it’s a service member in a war zone or a small-town mechanic, have the legal right to fix the equipment that’s brought to them. Increasingly, manufacturers — seeking to retain a monopoly on their own repairs through authorized dealers and service centers — use software locks and intellectual property restrictions to block access to repair manuals, diagnostic tools, and replacement parts. These restrictions create costly chokepoints, erode readiness, and undermine the military’s self-reliance.
After 32 years in uniform, including leading combat operations across the globe, I know what military readiness really means. And right now, our troops are all too often hamstrung by proprietary restrictions that block them from accessing the tools, software, and data needed to fix their own gear. So too are many of the repair shops that everyday Americans trust. That’s unacceptable.
In the military, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gets the need to fix this. He has made it clear that our armed forces must become “a leaner, more lethal force.” Front and center in his plan is a call for the Army to adopt right to repair principles in their procurement process, especially “where intellectual property constraints limit the Army’s ability to conduct maintenance and access the appropriate maintenance tools, software, and technical data.”
Congress gets this need too. That’s why, in July, the House of Representatives added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to expand the principles of Right to Repair to all branches of the military. In the Senate, Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT), a decorated Navy SEAL and combat veteran, is also championing these reforms.
But the same repair roadblocks our troops face abroad are hurting working Americans here at home.
This issue isn’t limited to the battlefield. Here at home, automakers are increasingly blocking access to the data needed to fix vehicles. That threatens the economic security of 350,000 Americans in the auto repair industry, many of whom are veterans running small, family-owned shops.
Independent repair shops charge 36% less, on average, than dealerships. If they disappear, so do consumers’ cost savings.
The REPAIR Act recognizes that our national strength depends on both military and civilian readiness — and that competition yields better results for every American driver.
Civilian infrastructure and national defense are intertwined. We can’t claim to be secure if we can’t even fix what we already own.
From aircraft hangars to small-town garages, Right to Repair is about restoring American control over American assets. The ability to repair what we use, on our own terms, isn’t just a consumer issue. It’s a military and economic necessity.
It’s time for House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) to bring this bill to a vote. America’s warfighters and America’s workers deserve no less.
Retired Col. Robert L. Maness, host of The Rob Maness Show, is a 32-year U.S. Air Force combat veteran and was a member of the Trump campaign’s Veterans and Military Families for Trump Coalition. Follow him on X @RobManess.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron S. Patterson)
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