August 18, 2005 Representative Joe Barton Dear Rep. Barton, The National Grange would like to commend you for your leadership in sponsoring the Motor Vehicles Owners' Right to Repair Act, legislation that will permit owners to choose the repair shop and the replacement parts to service and maintain their vehicles. H.R. 2048 is in direct response to the current automotive technology, which effectively "locks out" car owners from taking such action. The National Grange is the nation's oldest general farm and rural public interest organization. Founded in 1867, today the National Grange has more than 2,800 local, county and State Grange chapters in 37 states. As part of this year's National Grange priority legislative issues document, Blueprint for Rural America 2005 the National Grange made the following policy statement under the heading Consumer Protection Law: "The National Grange requests federal legislators to pass legislation that allows independent vehicle maintenance facilities to have access to the technology/programming needed to repair all makes of vehicles so that the consumer has a choice of where to take his/her vehicle for maintenance and repair." Due to the growing presence of vehicles with On-Board Diagnostic systems, required by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, some repair facilities have found it increasingly difficult to obtain the necessary information they need to repair newer vehicles. This means that later model cars can sometimes only be serviced at automobile dealerships, making shopping around for the best prices and most convenient service locations difficult for the consumer. These non-dealership repair options are especially important for people living in rural communities, where licensed automobile dealerships may be located more than 100 miles away from independent repair facilities. The Motor Vehicles Owners' Right to Repair Act is critical reform that puts the needs of consumers first yet also protects the legitimate interests of automobile dealerships and other repair shops. The Motor Vehicles Owners' Right to Repair Act clearly addresses the goal of our Consumer Protection Law Statement by helping to assure the consumer has the option to choose the repair shop and the replacement parts to service and maintain their vehicles. We look forward to working with you to ensure this legislation becomes law in the 109th Congress. Sincerely,
Leroy Watson, Legislative Director 1616 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20006-4999 – Tel: 202-628-3507; FAX: 202-347-1091 |
