Defense Contractor Lobbyists Are Trying To Kill Army ‘Right To Repair’ Reforms With A Bunch Of Lies And Bullshit

from the this-is-why-we-can’t-have-nice-things dept

So we’ve noted repeatedly how there’s a real push afoot to implement statewide “right to repair” laws that try to make it cheaper, easier, and environmentally friendlier for you to repair the technology you own. Unfortunately, while all fifty states have at least flirted with the idea, only Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Colorado, California, and Oregon, and Washington have actually passed laws.

And among those states, not one has actually enforced them despite a wide array of ongoing corporate offenses (though to be fair to states there is kind of a lot going on).

Back in June we mentioned how Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had committed to including right-to-repair requirements in all existing and future Army contracts with manufacturers. Some very light language to this effect was to be included in the latest National Defense Authorization Act by Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Tim Sheehy of Montana.

But despite the bipartisan popularity of right to repair reforms, companies aren’t keen on losing money via a government crackdown on their grift. The various policy and lobbying fronts for America’s defense contractors have been busy this fall trying to frame the modest reforms as an affront on innovation to scuttle the reforms as the House and Senate debate over bill versions:

“On Friday, Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Eric Fanning penned an op-ed in the Washington Times arguing that the Senate provision would “cripple innovation” in the defense business.”

Nothing quite says “innovation” like aggressively over-charging taxpayers for the repair and maintenance of a litany of often-dated military hardware. There’s ample evidence that just some very modest reforms could save taxpayers untold billions of dollars. One such example illustrated by Driscoll earlier this year:

“Driscoll recently pointed to a Black Hawk helicopter part to show how contractor restrictions drive up costs. The original equipment manufacturer refuses to repair or replace a small screen-control knob that grounds the aircraft when it breaks — forcing the Army to purchase an entire new screen assembly for $47,000. Driscoll said the Army could make the knob for just $15.”

Pretty typical military industrial complex graft. Which we could easily fix. If the U.S. wasn’t quite so grotesquely corrupt.

Organizations like the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) have been making the rounds insisting that there’s nothing that needs fixing, and if there were, actually fixing them would stifle innovation, harm national security, prevent companies from bidding on military contracts, and potentially risk sending sensitive military secrets to dangerous foreign governments.

Warren hasn’t been impressed, and recently fired off a letter to the NDIA politely stating they’re full of shit:

“Military leaders, service members, the White House, and hundreds of small businesses all agree these bipartisan right to repair reforms are desperately needed,” Warren said via email on Friday. “The giant defense contractors fighting these reforms are more interested in innovating new ways to squeeze our military and taxpayers than strengthening our national security.”

Companies have spent the better part of five years trotting out all kinds of bogus claims about how right to repair causes a vast parade of horrible outcomes, all of which have been debunked by subsequent government reports.

The auto industry, for example, falsely claimed that making it easier and cheaper to access your car’s repair data would be a boon to sexual predators. Apple, for years, tried to argue that making its phones easier and cheaper to repair would turn states into dangerous “meccas for hackers.”

Given the immense, often-corrupt influence that military contractors wield over Congress, and the short attention span of the U.S. media, I suspect this is a battle military contractors could ultimately win. And as we’ve seen with state right to repair laws, even if restrictions are passed, seeing them actually enforced with any competent consistency is another matter entirely.

Still, the fact that a bipartisan coalition of folks are actively trying to improve things is a lone bright spot in the soggy, corrupt mire that is U.S. consumer protection.

Filed Under: affordability, army, consumers, military, prices, repair, right to repair