"If your car doesn't work, your life doesn't work," Barton says

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement last week as part of a subcommittee hearing on consumers' rights to repair their automobiles:

"I have been involved with this issue since August of 2001, for the simple reason that I believe that drivers should decide who fixes their cars. I also believe that honest competition makes for better service and lower prices. That's how good businesses win customers in America, and why bad businesses lose them. Right now there's not much competition in the repair business for automobiles.

"What's at issue here is the way cars and trucks are repaired today. Computers and other sophisticated equipment make your car more reliable than ever, but they also mean that even the best shade-tree mechanic can't fix it when something goes wrong. They need the sophistication of modern diagnostic equipment. "That's the way manufacturers see it, too. When your car breaks, they want you to come to their brand-name dealerships. I understand that. And if independent garages can't get the computer codes and other data they need to diagnose the problem, the dealership is your only choice.

"Whether a car is foreign or domestic, consumers should be able to choose where they have the vehicle repaired, and whether they choose after-market replacement parts or Original Equipment Manufacturer parts. Nobody should find themselves dropping off a car at their neighborhood service station, where they've got both the mechanics and the tools necessary to fix that car, only to be told that it can't be fixed because the mechanic cannot get information from the car company. That's happening now, and the list of who it hurts goes on and on - the consumer who can't get his car fixed, the shop owner who loses business, the mechanic who loses a job, even the company that makes tools for shops that can't use them.

"I wish the industry parties would sort this out, but they seem incapable of doing so. Market players that achieve voluntary agreements always do a better job than politicians or bureaucrats. I was pleased to see the participants working toward an agreement actually made some progress during August and September. I was less happy to see that after years of discussion, they still can't find a way to agree. My understanding of the meetings leads me to believe the parties will not reach agreement soon and maybe not ever. I'm reminded of the ongoing negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis - good intentions on both sides but they never seem to get anywhere.

"I do not doubt the good faith efforts of all parties involved, but the fact remains that they cannot agree. I appreciate the efforts the automakers have made to use and improve the NASTF process to get information to independent repairers. But efforts without solutions don't fix broken cars.

"I introduced legislation in the previous Congress to address this important issue that affects consumers and small business. This Congress I redrafted the legislation to address legitimate concerns raised by industry and the FTC. H.R. 2048, the "Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act," which I introduced along with Congressman Towns and Congressman Issa and now has 66 cosponsors, including many on this subcommittee. The AAA, NFIB, The Consumer Electronics Association, The Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the 60 Plus Senior Citizens coalition all support this legislation.

"My goal is and has always been to put vehicle owners in the driver's seat when it comes to choosing where to have their car repaired. It is not about gaining proprietary information, and my legislation explicitly preserves trade secrets. In fact, automakers currently comply with an EPA rule that specifically protects trade secrets when shops work on emissions systems. This same framework should work for non-emissions repair information work. My bill simply requires that manufacturers make the same information available to both dealers and independent shops.

"We all know how dependent we are on our cars. They take us to work, to school, to the grocery store, to our relatives' house for dinner on Sunday. When your car doesn't work, your life doesn't work. You need it fixed and back in your driveway as soon as possible.

"There's a good chance that the guy who will fix my car works at a service station or a little garage, not at a big car dealership. Why shouldn't I be able to decide to go to the person that I choose? Independent shops that have paid for access to information from manufacturers and have made the investment in tools to repair the car need a timely response when the information cannot be accessed. They need some recourse when the manufacturers, for whatever reason, will not give them access to the information. Presently, independent repairers who could have repaired the vehicle are forced to turn their customers away to the dealerships.

"I know my constituents deserve better than this. If an enforceable voluntary agreement can be reached before we act, great. But if not, I don't think we should ask American consumers to wait any longer. I have asked Chairman Stearns to be ready to markup legislation sooner rather than later."