MOTOR VEHICLE OWNERS RIGHT TO REPAIR ACT -- HON. JOE BARTON (Extensions
of Remarks - August 03, 2001)
[Page: E1533]
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HON. JOE BARTON
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, August 2, 2001
- Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Motor Vehicle
Owners Right to Repair Act. As the name implies, this bill will preserve a
vehicle owners' freedom to choose where, how and by whom to repair their
vehicles as well as their choice in car parts.
- Right now, thousands of vehicle owners who are being turned away from
their local repair facility. They are being denied the choice of working on
their own vehicles, or the choice of replacement parts because information
necessary to make these repairs or integrate replacement parts with the
vehicle computer system is not readily available or not available at all. This
isn't the way it used to be. Until recently, this information was either not
necessary or widely available. But language in the 1990 Clean Air Act mandated
that vehicle manufacturers install computer systems in vehicles 1994 and newer
to monitor emissions. This law had the unintended consequence of making the
vehicle manufacturer the gatekeeper on who can repair, or produce, replacement
parts for the vehicle.
- This lack of consumer choice will have a huge negative economic impact. An
economic study examining this lack of choice's effect on California vehicle
owners concluded that motorist repair bills in California alone would increase
by 17 billion through 2008. Nation-wide this would equate to a huge tax
increase on the American people and severely hurt low and fixed income
motorists.
- I believe that most vehicle owners who have for years taken for granted
that any qualified repair technician of their choice, including themselves,
may repair their vehicle have relied heavily on the quality, cost and
convenience of the competitive independent aftermarket parts will be surprised
to find that in many cases it no longer exists.
- With this legislation, we put the motor vehicle owner back in the driver's
seat.
END