During a House Armed Services Committee hearing before the Congressional recess, Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) asked Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey about right-to-repair laws and how they impact small businesses.
00:00We're going to go to the gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Finstead.
00:04Thank you, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith, and thank you to our witnesses for being with us today.
00:09Throughout your testimony and through your answers to my colleagues,
00:13we have heard about the approaches that the Department of Defense is taking to ensure that we are delivering integrated capabilities to our warfighters at speed and scale.
00:21And I applaud your efforts and steps you are taking to streamline our DoD acquisitions process and integrating more small businesses into our defense industrial base.
00:32The importance of a strong acquisition process has been made abundantly clear.
00:37Mr. Duffy, while the DoD's push for right to repair aims to improve sustainment, as you just talked about a little bit, to cut costs and boost readiness,
00:46I'm concerned it creates significant business, legal, and technical challenges, particularly for small businesses and non-traditional suppliers.
00:55The debate is difficult because intellectual property law is complex and nuanced,
00:59and that's why it's so important that we take a look at some of the proposals, because some of the proposals out there are really all or nothing,
01:08and that can be very problematic, as you well know.
01:11So, to address this, I offered an amendment during the consideration of the 26th NDAA,
01:17and it requires the DoD to assess what IP and technical data is needed, what it has, and what it's missing.
01:25This is a more targeted approach, and it ensures DoD only asks for what's necessary,
01:30allowing industry to respond with solutions that provide necessary protections on privately funded IP.
01:36A strong and innovative industrial base is critical to national security.
01:39So, Mr. Duffy, will you commit to working with this committee to craft a balanced policy,
01:44one that meets your sustainment needs without undermining commercial innovation?
01:49You have my commitment.
01:51Perfect. I was hoping that would be a quick answer.
01:54So, I appreciate that commitment, and I look forward to working with you and the rest of the committee on this issue.
01:59Thank you again for all that you all do for us.
02:03Appreciate you being here today, and Mr. Chairman, I'll give you some time back. I'll be back.
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