WASHINGTON — The American Military Society (AMS) urges Congress to pass the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act (HR 1449) on behalf of its membership which includes active, reserve, National Guard, retired and veterans of the uniformed services, their families and survivors.
“Selling a car without complete access to repair information is like selling prescription drugs without the doctor’s dosing instructions. It doesn’t make sense. That’s why we are asking Congress to rectify this situation and pass the Right to Repair Act,” said Charles C. Partridge, Col, USA (Ret) of AMS. “When local repair shops are denied access to non-proprietary repair information from the car companies, competition is limited. All consumers benefit from competition, but those serving our country and their families at home derive particular benefit from being able to obtain affordable, effective and convenient repairs for their vehicles.”
Right to Repair levels the competitive playing field for motoring consumers and between new car dealerships and independent repair shops by requiring that car companies provide full, fair access at a reasonable cost to all non-proprietary service information, tools and safety-related bulletins needed to repair today’s high-tech motor vehicles. The Right to Repair Act was introduced into the 112th Congress by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and Todd Russell Platts (R-PA), and currently has 46 co-sponsors.
“As cars become more complicated with more computer systems, the problem becomes more acute,” continued Partridge. “Military personnel and their families are often stationed in remote locations far from any dealerships, relying on independent repair shops to service their vehicles. Most do not have the time to find the nearest dealership, drive all the way there and wait for their sole source of transportation to be repaired. If critical repairs go unperformed, then safety may be compromised. Passage of Right to Repair will ensure that all repair information is readily available to their trusted repair shop so they can have their vehicles repaired close to home, even when their vehicles are more recently out of warranty.”
About the American Military Society:
The American Military Society (AMS) is a non-profit veteran’s organization representing the professional and personal interests of active duty and retired men and women of America’s Uniformed Services, National Guard and Reserve. Since its founding in 1982, AMS has worked to support all aspects of national security while advancing the interests of the men and women who serve and who have served. The AMS mission is to advocate improved quality-of-life and economic fairness that will support the well-being of the men and women of America’s Uniformed Services and their families. For more information on the American Military Society, visit www.amsmilitary.org.
About Right to Repair:
The Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act (HR 1449), which was introduced by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and Todd Platts (R-PA), would require car companies to make the same service information and tools capabilities available to independent repair shops that they provide to their franchised dealer networks. The legislation further provides car companies with strong protections for their trade secrets unless that information is provided to the franchised new car dealers. The bill clarifies the responsibilities of the Federal Trade Commission in enforcing the bill’s requirements. For more information about the Right to Repair Act, visit www.righttorepair.org.
