By Nathan Proctor
The campaign to win the Right to Repair – reforms that ensure manufacturers can’t constrain repair of modern equipment – has often felt contentious. Right now, the battlefield for those rights is the literal battlefield.
Congress is on the verge of giving the U.S. Military the Right to Repair. Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with provisions that ensure every branch of the military can access all the parts, tools and information they need to make repairs on their own.
Next, the legislation heads to a conference committee, where leadership of the House and Senate can iron out differences and make any final changes. Pressure is mounting from defense contractors and others to soften or remove Right to Repair provisions, and conference committees tend to be the least transparent part of the process. The White House signaled support for the policy as well.
In other words, while we are close to passing a Right to Repair measure all the way through the U.S. Congress, we aren’t there yet.
Medical device repair is a critical part of the equation.
While the military is the sole buyer of some of the equipment they purchase – such as specialty weapons systems – they also purchase a lot of equipment which is otherwise generally available. That’s why a wide range of manufacturers and trade groups have come out against Right to Repair, including AdvaMed, which represents medical device manufacturers.
The Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), which represents dealerships for farm, construction and other heavy equipment, has claimed that granting the military a Right to Repair would “set a terrible precedent,” which the group fears could be expanded to other markets.
But failures of non-weapons systems can be a huge problem for military operations. Navy Secretary John Phelan told Congress this story in June: “I went on the [USS Gerald R. Ford] carrier; they had eight ovens – this is a ship that serves 15,300 meals a day. Only two were working. Six were out [for repair].”
“I am a huge supporter of ‘Right to Repair,’ ” said Phelan.
My organization, PIRG, has collected a range of stories, including from medical device repair technicians about being denied access to critical materials and service access that directly impacted troops’ healthcare.
“I was fixing that equipment with one hand tied behind my back,” Retired Master Sgt. Wesley Reid told me, regarding challenges around keeping a CT scan working without needed microcontrollers the manufacturer refused to provide.
I am hopeful that soon, biomeds helping to save the lives of wounded service members won’t have their hands tied behind their backs. If you agree, you should reach out to your senators and let them know you want Congress to put military Right to Repair over the finish line.
