At Hearing, Warren, Army Secretary Calls for Congress to Authorize the Military Right to Repair, Debunks Defense Contractors’ Claims Undermining Reforms

At Hearing, Warren, Army Secretary Calls for Congress to Authorize the Military Right to Repair, Debunks Defense Contractors' Claims Undermining Reforms

Driscoll: "We, the U.S. Army and the broader military, must maintain the right to take advantage of all the new tools because if we don't, our adversaries will and we are put at a meaningfully worse position."

Video of Exchange (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. - At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on claims from big defense contractors' lobbyists opposing reforms. Secretary Driscoll agreed with the senator on the importance of the military's right to repair its own equipment.

The Department of Defense (DoD) spends billions of dollars buying equipment, but contractors impose repair restrictions preventing servicemembers from fixing their weapons and often overcharge. Senator Warren pointed to Black Hawk helicopter knobs, used to scroll through information, that could be replaced for $15 but instead cause the helicopter to go entirely out of commission when broken unless the Army agrees to pay the contractor $47,000 to replace the entire system's screen.

Last year, Senator Warren fought to include her and Senator Tim Sheehy's (R-Mont.) bipartisan Warrior Right to Repair Act in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26 NDAA). Both the House and Senate bills included bipartisan military right to repair reforms that were stripped out at the eleventh hour behind closed doors under pressure from major defense contractor lobbyists.

During the hearing, Secretary Driscoll rebuked claims made by defense contractors against right to repair that the Army can't be trusted with sensitive data as "one of the more preposterous things I have heard," noting that the Army is highly capable of handling sensitive data and does not want to take data but to purchase it.

Senator Warren also slammed defense contractors' counterproposal of "data as a service," which would allow companies to "meter and bill" the DoD every time they access the materials. One defense contracting company already charges the Air Force $900 a page for upgrades to its maintenance manuals. Secretary Driscoll said soldiers already have trouble in peacetime accessing this information. In a war, not having access to the right to repair "could be the decisive point between us being successful somewhere 6,000 miles away in the Indo-Pacific or failing our mission if we cannot repair our equipment."

"Data as a service is just another attempt to gouge American taxpayers and put our servicemembers at risk," said Senator Warren.

Secretary Driscoll also reaffirmed his commitment to passing a right to repair law this Congress as "one of the most important things."

Secretary Driscoll continued, "We, the U.S. Army and the broader military, must maintain the right to take advantage of all the new tools because if we don't, our adversaries will and we are put at a meaningfully worse position."

Senator Warren concluded the hearing by calling on Congress to pass right to repair reforms in this year's National Defense Authorization Act. She has been a leader on right to repair in the military, securing support from defense officials and military leaders in the Trump administration to make sure servicemembers can repair their own equipment. Last year, Secretary Driscoll announced that the Army will ensure right to repair provisions are included in future Army contracts.

Transcript: Hearings to examine the posture of the Department of the Army in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program.
Senate Armed Services Committee
May 12, 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We need a military right to repair law.

Got an example today, and that is Black Hawk helicopters. There's a tiny knob that pilots need to scroll through for information, and every month, about four of them break. The Army could replace them for about $15 bucks, but because the Army doesn't have the right to repair, the whole helicopter goes offline, and the contractor charges $47,000 to replace the entire screen.

Let that sink in: $15 or $47,000.

Now, Secretary Driscoll, you and other military leaders have repeatedly said that Congress needs to pass the right to repair law. Last year, both the House and Senate both passed reforms, but the big defense contractors' lobbyists killed it behind closed doors.

So, let's talk out in the open about what those lobbyists are claiming. Let's just get it out here.

Number one: They say contractors can't hand over their IP and data because the Army would steal it.

Secretary Driscoll, what do you say to big contractors that claim the Army can't be trusted with sensitive data?

Secretary Dan Driscoll: Senator, I would say that's one of the more preposterous things I have heard in the last 18 months.

Senator Warren: But you have heard it?

Secretary Driscoll: I have heard it often that we, the United States Army, would take this data and do something nefarious at worst, or perhaps at best, from a moral perspective, we would haphazardly handle it. The U.S. Army and the Pentagon in particular are exceptionally good at handling sensitive data, and we have incredible processes in place. I would say more so than any other organization, and so my reply is, and has always been, we don't want to take any data. We just want to purchase it.

Senator Warren: OK, so let's do another one. Big contractors claim that DoD doesn't need right to repair reforms because you already have all the authority you need to access technical data for repairs. Now, it turns out, when you look at that existing legal authority, it explicitly says that technical data "does not include computer software."

Secretary Driscoll, it's 2026. Most weapons run on software. If the Army can't use software to repair its own equipment and weapons, is that a problem for readiness?

Secretary Driscoll: Unequivocally yes.

Senator Warren: Yeah. So, in fact, for example, the Army is already unable to repair the Avenger air defense system because it doesn't have the software it needs. So, right to repair must include software.

Let's do one more. Big contractors have floated the idea of "data as a service," which is really just code for "Pay per View." It means that the Department is "metered and billed" every single time they access the materials. It's pretty easy to see how costs would add up in those circumstances since one contractor is already charging the Air Force $900 a page for upgrades to its maintenance manuals.

Secretary Driscoll, aside from the cost of pay-per-view, what happens if the Army is trying to repair a piece of broken equipment in a remote area and has to keep messaging the contractor to get access to the manual?

Secretary Driscoll: Senator, this is what happens frequently, whether the specifics are true today or directionally true. Directionally, soldiers struggle mightily to keep a lot of our equipment online, and this is not in a moment of conflict. That could be the decisive point between us being successful somewhere 6,000 miles away in the Indo-Pacific or failing our mission if we cannot repair our equipment.

Senator Warren: It is a reminder. We've got to have this access. I just want to say, this business of "data as a service" is just another attempt to gouge American taxpayers and put our servicemembers at risk.

Last question, Secretary Driscoll. Does the Army need Congress to pass right to repair reforms in this year's National Defense Authorization Act, or should we let big contractors kill it once again behind closed doors? What do you think here? This one is known as low and slow over the plate.

Secretary Driscoll: Yes. This is one of the most important things, and I don't say this to be over the top. I am not intending to play into the set of questions. We, the U.S. Army and the broader military, must maintain the right to take advantage of all the new tools because if we don't, our adversaries will, and we will be put at a meaningfully worse position.

Senator Warren: I very much appreciate the job you are trying to do.

Senator Warren has been a leader on right to repair in the military:

• In March 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senator Warren debunked large defense contractor claims that right to repair would infringe on trade secrets and secured commitments from military leaders from all services on providing Congress with data to identify programs lacking technical data needed for repairs by the end of the month.

• In December 2025, Senators Warren and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) released a statement in response to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26 NDAA) not including bipartisan language from their bill to give the military the right to repair their own equipment.

• In November 2025, Senator Warren, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, wrote to the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), the trade association for big DoD contractors, regarding its opposition to the bipartisan right to repair reform in the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

• In July 2025, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sat down with CBS's Caitlin Huey-Burns to highlight their Warrior Right to Repair Act of 2025.

• In July 2025, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Warrior Right to Repair Act of 2025, legislation that would require contractors to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with access to technical data and materials the military needs to repair and maintain its own equipment.

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