Military Right to Repair surges ahead leading up to Memorial Day

The goal of our Right to Repair campaign is to make sure that everyone has the ability to fix the products they use — everything from tablets to tractors. And it’s not only consumers, farmers and everyday Americans who struggle to fix the products they buy — it’s also the U.S. military. 

Over the past week, leading up to Memorial Day, we’ve seen a number of exciting steps forward in the campaign to give military service personnel the Right to Repair. 

Polling shows Americans overwhelming support Military Right to Repair 

On May 20, PIRG released a new report, Military Right to Repair. It featured a new poll conducted in April 2025 by Lake Research Partners and the Tarrance Group of 1,000 likely 2026 general election voters nationwide. 

The results show extremely widespread support for Congress to pass a law ensuring the U.S. military can repair its own equipment. Voters overwhelmingly support the idea, with 74% supporting it, including 53% who strongly support Congress passing such a law, while just 11% oppose it. That’s a nearly 7 to 1 margin. Fifteen percent are undecided.

Percentage breakdowns for the polling question: “Would you [support or oppose] Congress passing a law allowing the military to repair equipment they own, rather than relying on paying the manufacturer’s authorized repair technicians, or are you undecided?”Photo by TPIN Staff | CC-BY-4.0

The U.S. Armed Forces support the Right to Repair 

In an April 30 memorandum on Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Army to “[s]eek to include right to repair provisions in all existing contracts and also ensure these provisions are included in all new contracts.” This follows Army Secretary Dan P. Driscoll’s expressed commitment to Right to Repair during his January 30, 2025 nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

On May 20, in response to a question from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA), Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink also spoke up for Right to Repair, noting not just the huge cost savings but the impact on military readiness.

“I think it’s not only from a cost perspective, Senator,” Dr. Meink explained. “I think from a readiness perspective, as General Allvin has discussed multiple times, both are affected with our ability to get, have more flexibility in how we do parts sustainment.”

Later, Dr. Mienk added, “The idea of having that flexibility [in terms of repair], I fully support, okay, and again, that’s one of the things we’re going to be looking at.” 

To see the full interaction see the video here. 

Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink speaking about Right to RepairPhoto by U.S. Congress | Public Domain

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez calls for Right to Repair legislation in House Armed Services Committee hearing

Also on May 20, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA) testified before the House Armed Services Committee about her national defense priorities. In her testimony, she called for the Servicemember Right-to-Repair Act to be included in the upcoming FY26 National Defense Authorization Act. 

This legislation would ensure that all branches of the U.S. armed services would have Right to Repair built into their procurement contracts. During her testimony, she argued, “When our servicemembers are required to be on hold with a manufacturer, ship parts overseas for simple repairs; when they have to fly an authorized contractor out to work on their equipment, it’s not just costly and demoralizing. Candidly, to the technician, it also deprives them of the skill to go out into the workforce and build that asset nationally.”

What’s next? 

These recent developments, which have caused an uptick in attention on the military Right to Repair, are the natural culmination of years of evidence that the military’s increasing inability to fix its own stuff costs American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars annually, impedes military readiness and  endangers servicemembers’ lives. The American people are firmly in support of Congressional action to support the military’s ability to repair equipment. The facts support reform. The people support reform. It’s time for Congress to enact it.

Are you a veteran or in the military? Sign the letter in support of Military Right to Repair.