Gluesenkamp Perez Rolls Out FARM Act

Last week Southwest Washington’s Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Colorado’s Joe Neguse introduced the Freedom for Agricultural Repair and Maintenance Act, better known as the FARM Act.  Supporters of the bill say it would require farm equipment manufacturers to make certain documentation, parts, software, and tools widely available, affirming farmers’ agency and right to repair their own equipment.

Specifically, the FARM Act would: 

• Establish a comprehensive framework for the right to repair farm equipment
• Define the type of information that Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”) are required to provide to make repair accessible
• Give the Federal Trade Commission the ability to enforce the requirements and promulgate rules as necessary to carry out the requirements’ implementation   

This Legislation Allows Farmers To Be Independent

“In America, we respect farmers. We respect stewardship and self-determination, and we’ll fight to preserve for our children the heritage that infuses those values," Gluesenkamp Perez said.  "This legislation affirms our right to feed ourselves, to be independent, and to be stewards of our tools, not hapless consumers.  Coming out of the trades, I know you wouldn’t mess around in someone else’s toolbox any more than you’d waltz into their spouse’s bedroom.  So, when corporate interests say to farmers that they can’t fix their own tools, they should know they’ve crossed a line. Congress ought to be clear that our loyalties are with America’s farmers – not the multinational conglomerates who are rolling them over a barrel.”    

“I’ve heard directly from farmers across Colorado that delays to repairs for their equipment can mean thousands of dollars in lost crops," Neguse said.  "A national Right to Repair Law is a common-sense solution to ensuring these folks have more options to fix broken machinery in a timely manner.  I’m proud to join with my colleagues in introducing the FARM Act and look forward to working together to get it across the finish line.”

Idea Receives Support In The Senate

Vermont senator Peter Welch led the introduction of the Senate companion bill, with Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and Pennsylvania's John Fetterman joining as a cosponsors.  

“Farmers are fixers. It only makes sense that farmers should have the right to repair their own equipment, which is vital to saving money and maintaining operations," Welch said.  "But right now, lack of a federal right to repair means that farmers in Vermont have to waste valuable time and resources getting someone else to fix their equipment–even if they can do it themselves.  Our bicameral legislation will help protect farmers from rip-offs and ensure they have the right to fix their own equipment.”

“Farmers work tirelessly to feed this country," Warren noted.  "They shouldn’t have to wait for weeks on end and pay sky-high prices for a manufacturer to fix essential farm equipment that farmers already know how to repair themselves.  Our bill is a commonsense solution: it fights back against the manufacturers’ greed and will save our farmers billions every year in repair costs.”

“For farmers across Pennsylvania, a broken tractor right before a harvest can ruin months of hard work. Time is money,” Fetterman noted. “Our farmers should have the freedom to repair their own equipment without having to travel hours on hours to the nearest approved service center or being price gouged on repair software subscriptions. I’m proud to join my colleagues on this bill so we can help protect farmers and their right to repair.” 

The FARM Act is endorsed by the National Farmers Union and U.S. PIRG.

Click Here to read the entire FARM Act.

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