Why it matters: The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a wide-ranging full committee markup on May 21, 2026, advancing 16 bills spanning vehicle safety, public health, recycling, and autonomous vehicles. The session was broadly bipartisan, but a dispute over whether the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act could undermine Massachusetts's voter-approved right-to-repair law nearly fractured the coalition, ultimately producing the markup's only dissenting vote.
---
The big picture: The markup served as the committee's contribution to the surface transportation reauthorization effort, alongside a package of standalone public health reauthorizations. The vehicle safety title, H.R. 7389, consolidated nearly a dozen member priorities, including a bipartisan ban on Chinese vehicles, AM radio mandates, permanent daylight saving time, and right-to-repair provisions. Several public health bills had lapsed or were nearing expiration, adding urgency. Democrats repeatedly framed the health reauthorizations as a bulwark against what Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO-1) called "the administration's assault on public health."
---
What they're saying:
- Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA-3): "The most important one is just simply missing. It's like not mentioning the front door."
- Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2): "There's no preemption in the bill. The memorandum of understandings codified does not preempt any state laws."
- Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6): "Right now, they're on our streets, going by military installations, collecting data. That's wrong."
Trahan warned that omitting manufacturer-to-consumer relationships from the bill's list of protected state laws could invite courts to interpret the legislation as preempting Massachusetts's right-to-repair statute, which voters passed with 75 Percent support in 2020. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6) and Guthrie both offered on-the-record assurances that no preemption was intended. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-4) voted no, the only dissent on H.R. 7389, which passed 48-1. Rep. Neal P. Dunn (R-FL-2) broke with most of his party to publicly praise Trahan's concerns, calling her remarks "articulate and intelligent."
---
Political stakes: The right-to-repair dispute is unresolved heading to the floor. Trahan and Auchincloss extracted commitments from Guthrie and Pallone to work with Massachusetts's Attorney General before a floor vote, but no legislative fix was adopted at markup. Separately, Rep. Robert E. Latta (R-OH-5) withdrew an autonomous vehicle framework amendment after Guthrie and Pallone pledged to advance AV legislation this summer. Dingell warned that another committee was already moving a bipartisan AV agreement in its own surface transportation markup, raising competitive pressure on this committee to act.
---
Yes, but: Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA-23) raised a substantive objection to the AM radio mandate, arguing it could add hundreds of dollars in shielding costs to electric vehicles. Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44) pushed back on the Sunshine Protection Act's inclusion, citing medical organizations that have called for permanent standard time instead of daylight saving. Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15) also questioned whether provisions in the package could slow EV adoption, though all three voted for the final bill.
---
What's next: The committee advanced all 16 bills, with most passing unanimously or near-unanimously. H.R. 7389 now heads toward floor consideration as part of the broader surface transportation reauthorization. Guthrie committed to continued negotiations on right-to-repair language, rare earth magnet supply chain provisions, and autonomous vehicle policy before a floor vote.
---
The bottom line: A productive bipartisan markup produced a sweeping legislative package, but unresolved disputes over right-to-repair preemption and autonomous vehicles mean the harder fights are still ahead.
---
Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.