Warren, Sheehy slam dropped military right to repair provision from defense bill

The latest legislation regulating Pentagon spending removed a bipartisan provision that would have guaranteed the military the right to repair its own equipment, prompting immediate criticism from the law’s authors, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Tim Sheehy, D-MA and R-MT, accused Congress of siding with defense contractors over soldiers.

Both chambers had passed versions of the reform, and the White House publicly supported the measure that would require contractors to provide the Pentagon with the technical data needed to perform repairs in-house, rather than pushing out manufacturing technicians at additional cost. The final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bypasses this requirement; Warren and Sheehy say the move would leave unions facing the same hurdles in repairing equipment when contractors claim ownership rights.

“For decades, the Pentagon has relied on a broken acquisition system routinely defended by career bureaucrats and corporate interests. Military right to repair reforms “They are supported by the Trump White House, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and our brave soldiers,” Warren and Sheehy said after the bill was released.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has repeatedly said the Pentagon lack of access to technical data one of the biggest drivers of rising sustaining costs; It is estimated that broader repair rights could save the department “billions” of dollars over the life cycles of major weapons systems.

YOU ROGER WICKER: THE PENTAGON NEEDS MAJOR REFORM. NOW IS OUR CHANCE

GAO reviews A large portion of aircraft, ships and ground vehicles found that if contractors had exclusive control over repair information, the military was forced into long-term supplier support arrangements that were far more expensive than in-house maintenance. In many cases, the GAO concluded that obtaining the necessary data earlier in the acquisition process would give the Pentagon greater flexibility, reduce downtime and lower costs for everything from software fixes to depot-level repairs.

Sources familiar with NDAA negotiations claimed that behind closed doors, lobbyists persuaded leaders in the House and Senate Armed Services Committee to abandon the more aggressive right to reparation.

“This is a textbook case of the swamp reigning at the expense of our warriors and the efficiency of the government,” one source said. “Is (Secretary of War Pete) Hegseth aware that Boeing is breaking the legs of our fighters?”

A spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee said: “The committee is committed to addressing the right-to-repair issue in a way that ensures our warplanes have the data they need to carry out repairs while protecting the intellectual property of the private sector.”

“The FY26 NDAA requires the Department to audit the Department’s contracts to determine where the data rights they need are missing and to determine whether the missing data rights arise from a flawed law or a flawed contract. If the law is flawed, the Department is required to make recommendations to Congress on how to fix it.”

Observers also questioned the weaker consensus.

“The provisions are not strong enough,” said Greg Williams of the Project on Government Oversight. “They help catalog the problem, but they don’t really do anything to solve it.” Williams countered industry arguments that the bill would seize or devalue contractors’ data, adding that the original proposals “acknowledged the cost and committed to paying fair, reasonable prices to vendors for this intellectual property.”

CONGRESS ANNOUNCED A 900 BILLION DOLLAR DEFENSE ACT TARGETING CHINA WITH TECHNOLOGY BANS, REDUCING INVESTMENTS AND INCREASING THE PAYMENTS OF US SOLDIERS

Industry groups defended their opposition.

“This discussion is not about ensuring equipment and technology can be repaired in contested environments; commanders already have broad authority to keep mission-critical systems operational,” said Marta Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Aerospace Industries Association. “Our concern with the Senate proposal is the blanket mandate for government takeovers of intellectual property regardless of necessity or cost. ‘One size fits all’ does not work for our soldiers or the industry that equips them.”

But military officials and observers say that while commanders may authorize emergency repairs, that authority does not give units the technical data, software access or parts needed to perform the repairs. They argue that crews remain dependent on contractors even if they have the skills to repair equipment themselves.

Rather than requiring contractors to provide repair data, the final NDAA instructs the Pentagon to create a database cataloging technical information it already has and to “solicit options” from contractors when data is missing. Critics say the language lacks any enforcement mechanism and leaves manufacturers free to refuse, preserving the contractor-controlled repair model that the reform seeks to change.

GAO reviews of aircraft, ships, and ground vehicles found that when contractors have exclusive control over repair information, the military is forced into long-term supplier support arrangements that are far more expensive than in-house maintenance. (Photo: Armin Weigel/Image alliance, via Getty Images)

The Trump administration had supported the reform earlier in the fall with Executive Policy Statements supporting both the House and Senate versions. Service secretaries also approved this effort and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth In November, it issued new acquisition guidance instructing the military to plan for “organic depot-level maintenance and repair” on large systems.

US MAY LOSE NEXT MAJOR WAR BECAUSE OF PENTAGON’S ‘BROKEN’ PROCUREMENT SYSTEM

In May 2025, Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll publicly promised that the Army would ensure the inclusion of right-to-repair provisions in the future. army contracts — aligning the service with the broader congressional effort for greater access to technical data. But advocates said a service-by-service approach wasn’t enough and pushed to codify and expand the right to repair across all branches to prevent contractors from controlling critical maintenance information.

The F-35 program provides one of the clearest examples of how limited repair rights increase costs.

GAO found that the Pentagon still lacks the basic technical data needed to perform many F-35 repairs organically, forcing the services to rely on Lockheed Martin and its subcontractors for everything from software maintenance to component revisions. This dependence has helped drive sustainment costs so high that the Pentagon has warned it cannot afford to operate the planned fleet without major changes.

Greater access to repair data could save the department billions of dollars over the jet’s projected life cycle, reduce turnaround times for broken parts and allow military depots to take over work currently handed back to contractors, the GAO reported.

The F-35 program provides one of the clearest examples of how limited repair rights increase costs. (Samuel King Jr./US Air Force)

The consequences of contractor restrictions are already visible across the force. A mechanic assigned to an exercise in Korea was “prohibited from performing maintenance on the generator as it would void the warranty”, leaving the unit with the option of voiding the warranty or losing equipment needed for training. regulations.gov.

Former Marine Corps logistics officer Elle Ekman wrote that sailors stationed in Japan were forced to “package and ship (the engines) back to contractors in the (U.S.) for repairs,” leaving the engines out of commission for months. New York Times.

Even basic ship systems were affected. Navy Secretary John Phelan told lawmakers during a visit to the USS Gerald R. Ford that six of the ship’s eight ovens, which are responsible for preparing more than 15,000 meals a day, were broken. Sailors said they knew how to repair the furnaces but were not allowed to do so and instead had to wait for contractors, according to a War Department statement. The crew similarly had to call the manufacturer when the elevators on the ship stopped working.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Advocates say these examples show why Congress is trying to regulate the right to military repairs and why they claim the problem is far from solved. While Warren and Sheehy have already pledged to introduce another piece of legislation next year, watchdog groups say they will pressure the Pentagon to use its existing authority to demand greater data access in new contracts.