For Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a bill she has co-sponsored in Congress is about more than repairing vehicles and refrigerators. It is about repairing our national identity.
“Part of our national heritage is that we can fix things. It’s in our DNA,” the Skamania Democrat told The Columbian. “We used to really own the things we bought — homes, tractors.”
But now, with computer chips being a part of everyday durable goods and with manufacturers claiming proprietary knowledge, the typical American is out of luck when it comes to fixing things.
“It takes the American consumer from owners to permanent renters,” Perez said. “It hurts the middle class first; it touches every American, whether they know it or not. It’s emblematic of a lot of things that are going wrong in our society.”
The REPAIR Act, introduced by Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., seeks to rectify that. Perez is one of three early co-sponsors of H.R. 906, targeting one of the priorities she listed before taking office.
As Perez explains, computer chips in numerous devices “lock out unauthorized repair.” In practical terms, that requires vehicle owners to go to a dealer for repairs — stonewalling independent repair shops and do-it-yourself mechanics.
The bill would ensure that owners and their repairers of choice have access to necessary tools and information. As AutoBodyNews.com puts it, that means “wireless transmission of repair and diagnostic data and access to on-board diagnostic and telematic systems needed to repair a vehicle must be made available to the independent repair industry.”
For Perez, the issue hits close to home. She owns a Portland auto repair shop with her husband. Because of that, her sponsorship of the legislation could be viewed as self-serving. Or it could be seen as the benefit of having a representative who works in the trade industry; Perez has seen the issue firsthand.
Either way, Perez’s argument about Americans being able to fix things extends beyond personal interests; it fits in with a growing “right-to-repair” movement that has broad implications for consumers.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order preventing manufacturers of various devices from placing restrictions on independent repair shops and do-it-yourself repairs. The order specifically called out smartphone companies for making repairs “more costly and time consuming.”
In January, John Deere signed an agreement with the American Farm Bureau to “enhance the ability of farmers to timely control the lawful operation and upkeep of agricultural equipment.”
And New York has become the first state to codify the right to repair, while numerous legislatures are considering similar measures. Proponents say that such legislation lowers repair costs and allows consumers to keep machinery for longer — a benefit for the environment.
But critics warn that right-to-repair legislation is not a panacea. A study from researchers in Singapore and the University of California determined that manufacturers might increase new product prices to compensate for future lost repair revenue, and that consumers likely will hang on to low-efficiency products longer.
While there could be unintended consequences, Congress should err on the side of enhanced choices. Giving increased power to the public regarding the repair of automobiles or washing machines or smartphones will help empower and strengthen American consumers.
