,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dfad ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #bj1 #bjbf,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself and ,mr4 ,blumenthal7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to protect the editorial independence of the ,stars and ,stripes news organization4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,stars and ,stripes ,editorial ,independence ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,stars and ,stripes has reported on issues unique to members of the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces1 particularly those serving abroad1 dating back to the ,civil ,war4 7#b7 ,stars and ,stripes remains editorially independent of interference or censorship from outside its own editorial chain of command4 7#c7 ,a free and independent press is a cornerstone of democratic governance and is essential to transparency1 accountability1 and informed public decisionmaking4 7#d7 ,congress has historically recognized ,stars and ,stripes as an independent journalistic organization serving members of the ,armed ,forces and their families overseas4 7#e7 ,stars and ,stripes provides unique and sustained coverage of issues affecting servicemember and veterans' quality of life1 including housing1 health care1 pay and benefits1 family readiness1 training conditions1 and the long-term impacts of military service4 7#f7 ,such reporting elevates concerns and experiences that may otherwise receive limited attention1 enabling policymakers and the public to better understand the lived realities of members of the ,armed ,forces and their families4 7#g7 ,independent war reporting and coverage of military operations demonstrate transparency and accountability to the ,american public regarding the human1 strategic1 and financial costs of armed conflict4 7#h7 ,transparent reporting on military operations and conflicts strengthens public trust by ensuring that decisions made in the name of national security are subject to informed public awareness and debate4 7#i7 ,maintaining a clear separation between ,department of ,defense public affairs activities and ,stars and ,stripes editorial operations is necessary to preserve confidence among servicemembers and military families in the accuracy and independence of reporting provided by ,stars and ,stripes4 7#aj7 ,the ability of defense journalists to operate without censorship1 undue influence1 or retaliation is essential to maintaining credibility1 accuracy1 and public trust4 7#aa7 ,protecting press freedom within the defense sector strengthens national security by promoting accountability1 identifying inefficiencies or misconduct1 and ensuring informed debate on defense policy4 7#ab7 ,members of the ,armed ,forces1 ,department of ,defense civilian employees1 and their families stationed overseas1 including in combat zones and other remote locations1 often rely upon ,stars and ,stripes as a primary source of independent ,english-language news and information4 7#ac7 ,members of the ,armed ,forces1 ,department of ,defense civilian employees1 and their families operate in information environments that are frequent targets of foreign adversary influence operations1 including disinformation1 propaganda1 and coordinated inauthentic behavior4 7#ad7 ,independent oversight and internal editorial review mechanisms1 including the ,stars and ,stripes ,ombudsman1 support accountability and journalistic integrity4 7#ae7 ,congressional oversight is necessary to ensure that ,stars and ,stripes is not subjected to censorship1 ideological influence1 or political direction4 #c4 ,independence of ,stars and ,stripes 7a7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this section is to codify the requirements related to the editorial independence of ,stars and ,stripes provided for in section #d4b of ,department of ,defense ,directive 7,,dodd7 #eabb4aa1 dated ,october #aa1 #aiic1 and section #bdf4d7;b7 of title #cb1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 7b7 ,editorial independence requirement 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall ensure that-- 7,a7 editorial policies and practices of ,stars and ,stripes are in accordance with journalistic standards governing ,united ,states news media of the highest quality1 with emphasis on matters of interest to the ,stars and ,stripes readership2 7,b7 ,stars and ,stripes' editorial operations are independent of the military chain of command1 military public affairs activities1 or other external influences1 and without censorship or propaganda2 7,c7 the ,stars and ,stripes publisher remains a civilian government employee with independent professional news media experience1 who manages and controls the day-to-day business and financial1 operational1 and administrative activities1 and provides editorial oversight of ,stars and ,stripes2 7,d7 ,stars and ,stripes' reporters with access to ,department of ,defense installations are authorized to cover events or activities open to those with installation access1 even though commercial news media may not have the same unescorted access2 7,e7 ,stars and ,stripes is a digital-first news organization1 but is also published in a print newspaper edition at a frequency and distribution determined by the publisher to best serve its readership2 and 7,f7 except as provided in paragraph 7#c71 ,stars and ,stripes provides a free flow of news and information to its readership without news management or censorship from the ,secretary of ,defense or the ,department of ,defense4 7#b7 ,prohibition on withholding of unfavorable news ,the calculated withholding from publication in ,stars and ,stripes of news unfavorable to the ,department of ,defense1 the military services1 or the ,united ,states ,government is prohibited4 7#c7 ,exceptions 7,a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding the requirement under paragraph 7#a71 ,stars and ,stripes shall not publish original staff-produced news stories based upon classified information or publish information that clearly endangers the lives of ,united ,states personnel or would adversely affect national security4 7,b7 ,limitation ,the exceptions under subparagraph 7,a7 may not be construed to permit the calculated withholding of news unfavorable to the ,department of ,defense1 the military services1 or the ,united ,states ,government4 ,any security risk information shall not be withheld without concurrence from both the ,stars and ,stripes publisher and the relevant combatant commander4 7#d7 ,stars and ,stripes personnel ,the exclusion of civilian candidates for consideration for officer1 journalist1 or other ,stars and ,stripes staff positions is prohibited4 7c7 ,news contracting ,stars and ,stripes shall not be prohibited from purchasing1 contracting for1 or publishing news stories1 features1 syndicated columns1 comic strips1 and editorial cartoons from commercial news media services or sources4