Warrior Right to Repair Act of 2025
The Warrior Right to Repair Act of 2025 would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure contractors provide fair and reasonable access to repair materials for the goods they procure. This includes parts, tools, and information used to diagnose, maintain, or repair equipment, and applies to new DoD contracts going forward. The bill also provides a process to waive the requirement for existing programs under certain risk-based justifications, and directs the Comptroller General to review implementation within one year. Additionally, the DoD would be tasked with identifying necessary contract modifications to remove intellectual property constraints that hinder maintenance access. The overall goal is to reduce vendor lock-in and improve DoD maintenance capabilities by ensuring access to repair materials on terms comparable to those offered to authorized repair providers. In practice, the bill could make it easier for DoD and its contractors to obtain replacement parts, diagnostic software, and other repair materials from manufacturers or their authorized sources, potentially lowering downtime and enabling more rapid, cost-effective repairs. It also creates a mechanism to review and address IP barriers that limit repair access, though it allows for program-specific waivers if risk assessments show cost, schedule, or performance impacts.
Key Points
- 1The head of a DoD agency may not approve a new goods contract unless the contractor agrees in writing to provide fair and reasonable access to all repair materials (parts, tools, information) used to diagnose, maintain, or repair the goods.
- 2Waiver authority: for contracts tied to programs that began before enactment, agencies may waive the access requirement with a justification based on an independent technical risk assessment showing cost, schedule, or performance impacts.
- 3Definition of fair and reasonable access: access on terms comparable to those offered to authorized repair providers, including price, delivery, and rights of use; if the manufacturer does not offer materials to repair providers, the government may set terms deemed fair and reasonable.
- 4Comptroller General reporting: within one year of enactment, a report to Congress assessing how the provision is being implemented and how DoD complies with it.
- 5DoD contract modifications related to repair capabilities: the Secretary of Defense must conduct a review to identify changes needed to remove intellectual property constraints that limit DoD access to repair materials, parts, and tools; includes definitions for parts and tools as used in this context.