,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ebhh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august #f1    
#bjbf,mr4 ,schatz 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,schiff1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,ossoff1  
,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4
 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,warren1
 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,wyden1
 ,mr4 ,merkley1 and ,ms4 ,rosen7        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a      
,,bill  ,to restore press access to the 
,pentagon1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,protecting ,pentagon ,press ,access
 ,act4  #b4 ,purpose ,the purposes of   
this ,act are-- 7#a7 to promote accurate
 and independent reporting about the    
defense policy and military services of 
the ,united ,states by restoring to     
credentialed journalists access to the  
,pentagon that successive               
administrations permitted until #bjbe2  
and  7#b7 to remove unreasonable        

restrictions on credentialed journalists
 imposed by ,secretary of ,defense      
,peter ,hegseth1 including restrictions 
imposed by the ,may #bc1 #bjbe1         
,secretary of ,defense ,memorandum      
titled ,updated ,physical ,control      
,measures for ,press_/,media ,access    
,within the ,pentagon and the ,october  
#f1 #bjbe1 ,secretary of ,defense       
,memorandum titled ,implementation of   
,new ,media ,in-brief4  #c4 ,findings   
,congress makes the following findings3 
7#a7 ,the ,founders of the ,united      
,states enshrined freedom of the press  
in the ,first ,amendment to the         
,constitution of the ,united ,states    
because they recognized that democracy  
requires a free and vibrant press       
capable of uncovering and disseminating 
the knowledge necessary for citizens to 
hold the government to account4  7#b7   
,independent journalists were invited to
 work from inside the ,pentagon before  
the building opened during ,world ,war  
,,ii because ,secretary of ,war ,henry  

,stimson understood the need for        
accurate reporting on the national      
security efforts of the ,united ,states 
and recognized the value to both the    
public and leaders of the ,armed ,forces
 in providing reporters close proximity 
to key sources of information4  7#c7    
,since the founding of the ,department  
of ,defense1 credentialed journalists   
have been allowed to access unsecured   
areas of the ,pentagon to conduct       
thorough1 reliable1 and timely          
reporting4  7#d7 ,from the earliest days
 of the ,pentagon1 the ,department has  
also provided credentialed journalists  
with dedicated physical space1 opening a
 combined ,national ,defense press room 
in #aidh and providing cubicles1 desks1 
telephone lines1 and other tools for    
reporters to work from inside the       
building4  7#e7 ,in #aigb1 ,secretary of
 ,defense ,melvin ,laird1 under         
,president ,richard ,nixon1 designated  
the ,pentagon press space as the        
,correspondents' ,corridor1 and said1   

,we here at the ,department of ,defense 
firmly believe the government and the   
press are interlocking parts of our     
nation's constitutional system of checks
 and balances4 ,when civilian and       
military members of this department take
 the oath to support the ,constitution  
of the ,united ,states1 that also1 of   
course1 includes the ,first ,amendment44
  7#f7 ,robert ,sims1 ,assistant        
,secretary of ,defense for ,public      
,affairs for ,president ,ronald ,reagan1
 endorsed the view of ,secretary ,laird 
and explained that effective reporting  
requires access beyond press briefings  
because the ability to quickly get the  
views of senior officials with          
significant policy information promotes 
the accuracy and quality of reporting   
from the ,pentagon4  7#g7 ,over the     
course of many decades1 the ,department 
of ,defense had diligently worked to    
preserve the access of reporters to the 
,pentagon1 even during extraordinary    
circumstances1 including by ensuring    

reporters were able to return to the    
,pentagon within hours of the attacks of
 ,september #aa1 #bjja1 and by          
maintaining access for reporters        
throughout the ,,covid-#ai pandemic4    
7#h7 ,in a policy imposed by ,secretary 
,hegseth in #bjbe1 the ,department1 for 
the first time1 restricted credentialed 
journalists from actively soliciting    
unauthorized information or engaging in 
activity the ,department considers      
unprofessional4  7#i7 ,in #bjbf1 the    
,department announced a new policy that 
would require journalists to work in an 
annex facility outside the ,pentagon1   
redesignated the ,pentagon ,press       
,office as a secure space1 and required 
reporters for the first time to have a  
military escort when present anywhere   
within the ,pentagon4  7#aj7 ,secretary 
,hegseth identified no new security risk
 or misconduct that required such a     
policy4  7#aa7 ,at the same time1 the   
,department has drastically curtailed   
formal live on-camera press briefings   

with credentialed journalists4  #d4     
,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of 
,congress that-- 7#a7 a press whose     
ability to investigate and publish is   
overly constrained by government        
regulation is neither free nor vibrant2 
7#b7 ,united ,states citizens have a    
right to better understand the policies1
 programs1 and operations being pursued 
by the ,department of ,defense1 the     
objectives of the leaders of the        
,department1 the effectiveness of such  
leadership1 and how the ,department     
employs and deploys personnel and spends
 the tax dollars of citizens2  7#c7     
press access to the ,pentagon informs   
and serves the public interests         
described in paragraph 7#b72  7#d7      
reliable1 independent1 and comprehensive
 reporting on the ,department of        
,defense-- 7,a7 has led to policy and   
program changes that have directly      
served the national interest and        
improved the quality of life and service
 for members of the ,armed ,forces2     

7,b7 promotes the broad public          
understanding and support of the ,armed 
,forces needed to attain the national   
security objectives of the ,united      
,states2 and  7,c7 requires information 
beyond official government briefings and
 materials1 including information       
facilitated by the ability of reporters 
to work and gather news inside the      
,pentagon2 and  7#e7 press access to the
 ,pentagon is essential for meaningful  
oversight and enables reporting that    
informs ,congress in carrying out its   
legislative authority1 including by     
surfacing information that serves as the
 basis for investigative inquiries1     
reports1 hearings1 and legislation4  #e4
 ,restoring ,pentagon press access ,not 
later than #cj days after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,defense shall-- 7#a7     
restore to the press access to areas of 
the ,pentagon that were accessible to   
appropriately credentialed journalists  
on ,may #bb1 #bjbe1 including the       

,correspondents' ,corridor and other    
designated press working spaces2  7#b7  
restore to appropriately credentialed   
journalists unescorted access to areas  
of the ,pentagon that were accessible   
without an escort on ,may #bb1 #bjbe2   
7#c7 require the ,secretary to ensure   
the integrity of the process to issue to
 reporters a ,pentagon ,facilities      
,alternative ,credential1 including by--
 7,a7 designating the ,pentagon ,force  
,protection ,agency as responsible for  
the security review2  7,b7 ensuring that
 the security review described in       
subparagraph 7,a7 is conducted by career
 officials without unnecessary delays1  
political influence1 or other influence 
by the ,office of ,public ,affairs of   
the ,department of ,defense2 and  7,c7  
requiring that the security review      
described in subparagraph 7,a7 is       
timely1 determinative1 not subject to   
reversal by or at the direction of      
political appointees1 and not subject to
 agreement with any policy that seeks to

 restrict ,first ,amendment activities2 
and  7#d7 prohibit any changes to press 
access at the ,pentagon1 including the  
designation of press work spaces1 access
 areas1 and press credentials1 without  
prior consultation with the ,committee  
on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,armed ,services of   
the ,house of ,representatives4