{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://auchincloss.house.gov/media/press-releases/release-auchincloss-leads-letter-to-protect-vehicle-owners-and-small-businesses", "RELEASE: Auchincloss Leads Letter to Protect Vehicle Owners and Small Businesses", "2023-12-11", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Jake Auchincloss", "A000148", "auchincloss.house.gov", "auchincloss", "https://auchincloss.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "\u201cWe are concerned that the path forward NHTSA proposed \u2026 will entrench manufacturers' dominance in the repair market in the long run, harm competition, and discourage other states from pursuing comprehensive right to repair legislation.\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 In response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration\u2019s (NHTSA) recent letter about compliance with Massachusetts\u2019 right to repair law, Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-04), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03), and Jared Golden (D, ME-2) sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman to ensure that the proposal will not adversely impact consumers.\n\nIn the letter, the members requested, \u201ca briefing from NHTSA to explain how \u2026 its proposed solution will affect competition in the marketplace to help consumers.\u201d\n\nThe signers stated, \u201cOur constituents understand the importance of supporting small businesses and preserving their right to repair the vehicles they own. \u2026 Without competition from independent repair shops, auto manufacturers have no incentive to price repair parts competitively.\u201d\n\nA full copy of the letter can be found below.\n\nDecember 11, 2023\n\nThe Honorable Pete Buttigieg\n\nSecretary of Transportation\n\nDepartment of Transportation\n\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\n\nWashington, D.C. 20590\n\nSophie Shulman\n\nDeputy Administrator\n\nNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration\n\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\n\nWashington, D.C. 20590\n\nDear Secretary Buttigieg and Deputy Administrator Shulman,\n\nWe write to express our appreciation for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration\u2019s (NHTSA) recent letter providing a path forward for vehicle manufacturers to comply with Massachusetts\u2019 right to repair law, and for NHTSA\u2019s stated commitment to the right to repair more broadly. However, we also wish to express concerns regarding the double standard this implementation of Massachusetts law would create, as well as the implications this warning could have for other right to repair legislation at the state and federal levels.\n\nMassachusetts\u2019 Data Access Law requires that all telematics systems on vehicles sold in the state be equipped with \u201can inter-operable, standardized and open access platform,\u201d which ensures vehicle owners have access to their diagnostic and repair data, allowing them to provide their vehicle\u2019s data to a repair shop of their choice. The law also requires that \u201c[s]uch platform shall be capable of securely communicating all mechanical data emanating directly from the motor vehicle via direct data connection to the platform.\u201d While we appreciate that NHTSA has determined in its most recent letter that the Massachusetts law does not conflict with and is not preempted by the Safety Act (the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 49 C.F.R. Chapter 301), we are concerned that the implementation structure outlined by NHTSA disadvantages independent repair shops.\n\nIn its most recent letter, NHTSA suggests that its primary concern with the Massachusetts law is \u201cthe risk associated with the ability to, at scale, remotely access and send commands that affect a vehicle\u2019s critical safety systems.\u201d NHTSA argues that these risks exist regardless of who is seeking to repair a vehicle, and that no person or entity \u201cnecessarily poses a greater cybersecurity concern than another.\u201d However, NHTSA has allowed vehicle manufacturers to have remote access to telematic data, while at the same time suggesting that independent repair shops having similar access would pose a risk. NHTSA suggests that short-range wireless access, such as via Bluetooth, is a solution that \u201cwould significantly reduce the cybersecurity risks\u2014and therefore the safety risks\u2014associated with remote access.\u201d NHTSA is suggesting creating a double standard wherein manufacturers\u2019 long-range remote access is deemed less risky than similar access from an independent repair shop.\n\nNHTSA\u2019s evaluation of Massachusetts law may hurt small businesses and consumers. Without competition from independent repair shops, auto manufacturers have no incentive to price repair parts competitively. Independent repair shops will have increasingly limited ability to repair newer cars, as vehicles are more and more reliant on telematics for repairs. In 2021, approximately 50 percent of new cars had telematics, and this number is expected to increase to about 95 percent by 2030. Approximately 85 percent of voters support consumers\u2019 right to make vehicle data available to a repair shop they choose. Our constituents understand the importance of supporting small businesses and preserving their right to repair the vehicles they own. The Biden Administration has expressed support for the right to repair precisely because it helps consumers, noting the need for the U.S. to \u201climit powerful equipment manufacturers from restricting people\u2019s ability to use independent repair shops or do DIY repairs.\u201d\n\nWe are concerned that the path forward NHTSA proposed in its August 22nd letter will entrench manufacturers' dominance in the repair market in the long run, harm competition, and discourage other states from pursuing comprehensive right to repair legislation. We respectfully request a briefing from NHTSA to explain how remote access risks differ between manufacturers and independent repair shops, and how its proposed solution will affect competition in the marketplace to help consumers.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://auchincloss.house.gov/media/press-releases/release-auchincloss-leads-letter-to-protect-vehicle-owners-and-small-businesses"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7496359758079052, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}