Here’s something that Democrats and Republicans ought to be able to agree on: When Americans serving in the military are trying to protect our country and each other, they should not be strangled by red tape that prevents them from fixing broken weapons and tools. And yet that is exactly the danger they currently face.

If a war broke out tomorrow, American troops may struggle to repair and maintain the assets they need to defend themselves and defeat the enemy — not because they aren’t capable of making those repairs or hiring a third party who can, but because they are contractually forbidden from doing it.

Currently, many Department of Defense contracts reserve the task of repairs to personnel authorized by the manufacturer. Such restrictions can apply to everything from backup generators to F-35 fighters. Lacking access to the necessary data, tools, parts and training, troops in the field must either ship broken gear back home or fly out contractors tied to manufacturers — raising costs and imposing potentially dangerous delays.

Believe it or not, military members have actually been told that they can’t cobble parts together or do their own repairs. This flies in the face of one of our most storied strengths: American ingenuity.

America is a country of fixers. When something is broken, we roll up our sleeves, figure out the problem, and get to work fixing it. And if we hit a roadblock, we bring in someone as fast as possible to help. It’s part of our spirit and character — and yet it’s being denied to the people who we ask to protect and defend us.

Troops report having to send malfunctioning drones that could have been fixed with a drop of glue back to the manufacturer at a cost of $26,000 apiece. A Pentagon investigation last year discovered the Air Force had accepted a markup of 7,943% on spare lavatory soap dispensers for Boeing C-17 cargo planes. On a recent visit to the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, Navy Secretary John Phelan found six of eight ovens, together meant to produce over 15,000 meals a day, awaiting manufacturer-approved repairs. It’s government bureaucracy at its most frustrating — and exorbitantly expensive, too.

The Government Accountability Office has estimated that around 70% of the total life-cycle costs of weapons systems goes to operating and support. That’s one reason it has recommended the military take over more sustainment activities for the $1.7 trillion F-35 program. Depending on where they’re located, contractors tied to manufacturers are often more expensive than civilian Pentagon employees.

This isn’t just about cost. It’s also about combat readiness. Currently there are lengthy maintenance delays that harm our readiness — and that’s during peacetime. Just imagine if war breaks out. The stakes will be even higher. In the midst of battle, troops are not going to be able to ship broken gear back to the U.S., or even to large bases in the region (most of which would be immediate targets). Troops forbidden to do maintenance and repairs in peacetime, and lacking the necessary specs and tools, will struggle to do it under fire.

Relying too much on manufacturers creates unacceptable risks, and the problem has been growing since the 1990s, as industry consolidation has boosted the leverage of big defense companies. Of course, firms have a legitimate interest in protecting their intellectual property, but they also have a responsibility not to hamstring the very people they are supposed to be supporting. Plus, competition is healthy. Allowing the military to pursue the fastest, cheapest, and best possible solutions — whether that’s using internal personnel or external vendors — will encourage greater efficiency.

As the former chair of the Defense Innovation Board, this was an issue that we examined and highlighted. And the good news is: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recognizes the problem and has begun addressing it. In April, he directed the Army to mandate right-to-repair clauses in all new contracts and seek to add them to old ones. Leaders of the other services have said they support taking on the issue, too — and Congress can help.

A draft of the Senate’s 2026 National Defense Authorization Act requires manufacturers to provide instructions for maintaining covered equipment. In effect, companies would have to allow access to the same manuals, procedures, tools and equipment they use themselves or offer to authorized service providers, either as part of the initial contract or as a negotiated price option. During wartime and preparing for combat, the military would have the authority and flexibility to make repairs as it sees fit.

Enshrining this in law deserves bipartisan support. It would expand the Army’s new policy to all the services and make it harder for industry lobbies to reverse it in future. It would give the military more options — including continuing to have contractors perform complicated repairs as needed — increase transparency and resiliency, and bring down costs.

The sooner it happens, the better.

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Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, and the founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

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