‘Right-to-Repair’ NDAA Provision Wanted by Americans Across Political Lines

More than three-quarters of Americans polled in a recent survey endorse national defense legislation that would include the “right-to-repair” provision allowing U.S. military service members to fix their own equipment rather than wait for contractors as required by law.

Right-to-repair has been one of myriad topics discussed, and amendments included, in both the U.S. House and Senate deliberations of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). After the House Armed Services Committee included right-to-repair in its defense bill version, the Senate Armed Services Committee followed suit on Wednesday by voting 18-9 to approve its own $1.14 trillion version that also includes the right-to-repair reform. Now, the full Senate must deliberate the legislation prior to becoming law.

According to a survey published June 10 by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), about 78.9% of all 1,090 respondents said they support the military’s ability to repair their own equipment. When asked specifically about the Warrior Right to Repair Act contained within the House and Senate bill versions, roughly 73.5% of respondents said they would support its inclusion in the final version.

That overwhelming support in favor of the provision’s inclusion falls along all ideological lanes, with 84.1% of Republicans, 78.2% of Democrats, and 76.2% of independents voicing support for allowing the military to repair its own equipment.

The numbers are quite stark considering that the same survey deemed right-to-repair as a “silent issue,” with 76.5% of respondents being unaware of contract rules that restrict military units from repairing their own equipment.

“It’s rare to have sort of overwhelming support across all three political segments on an issue,” Karen Bailey-Chapman, senior VP of public and government affairs for SEMA, told Military.com. “I think the thing for us is…Americans generally didn’t even know that this was a thing, that this was even something that needed to be legislated.

“I think most Americans, especially anybody that’s been either in the military or military adjacent, you think, ‘Of course the military can repair their vehicles or their equipment in the field.’ And to find out that this is actually not allowed, I think is a little bit shocking to people.”

On more granular questions, like if a military vehicle breaks down in a combat zone, 66.5% said that service members should be allowed to repair it in the field. Another 71.8% expressed concern about how defense contracting decisions are made.

Just 10% of respondents believe military units should be required to wait for manufacturer-authorized technicians.

The survey was commissioned from May 14 to 17 and has a +/- 2.9% margin of error.

Previous Congressional Right-to Repair Efforts Fell Short

Current law allows for contracts that often force the military’s highly capable service members to rely on contracting personnel to repair equipment.

In turn, critics have blasted such ways of doing business by pointing at exorbitant costs, defense contractors leveraging the U.S. military to benefit their own coffers and contracts, and U.S. taxpayer dollars not being properly utilized.

The impetus for the SEMA poll, Bailey-Chapman explained, is that arguably the majority of Americans are unaware of what right-to-repair is and does as it relates to the military. But efforts to delve into the data began about a year ago, around the same time that the provision was ultimately cut from both the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2026 NDAA.

“We’re trying to kind of bridge that gap…this is a common-sense piece of legislation, and thankfully now it is in both the House and Senate versions that are going to be advancing to the respective floors,” she said. “But I think there’s sort of this disconnect of the fact that No. 1, the military wants it. You had the head of the Army Special Ops on Capitol Hill asking for this, and then you’ve got from our perspective, the small businesses and small business manufacturers who have been trying to sort of have the ability to serve our military and supply our military.

“Quite frankly, the big military contractors have been largely keeping us out. It was a common sense measure last year, it was taken out by people that have their own interests—the large defense contractors—and so when this effort spun up again, we decided to double down on the effort.”

She mentioned how support for right-to-repair’s inclusion has been strongly encouraged by major U.S. military officials. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee in May 2026, calling right-to-repair “one of the most important things, and I don’t say this to be over the top.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has endorsed it to the benefit of service members.

And while this particular SEMA survey did not ask respondents their views on if right-to-repair again fails to make the final cut of the NDAA, Bailey-Chapman said you can glean how many Americans would feel based on their other responses.

“You can look at the opposite reaction, that if once again the large contractors find a way to pull this out despite the overwhelming support in Congress, the support of the American people, support of the actual military, the ones that are serving on our behalf—it could very well become a major issue for those that maybe don’t choose to support it or protect this provision,” she said.