SenateS. 4614119th Congress
Stars and Stripes Editorial Independence Act of 2026
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4614 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4614
To protect the editorial independence of the Stars and Stripes news
organization.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 20, 2026
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following
bill; 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
organization.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stars and Stripes Editorial
Independence Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Stars and Stripes has reported on issues unique to
members of the United States Armed Forces, particularly those
serving abroad, dating back to the Civil War.
(2) Stars and Stripes remains editorially independent of
interference or censorship from outside its own editorial chain
of command.
(3) A free and independent press is a cornerstone of
democratic governance and is essential to transparency,
accountability, and informed public decisionmaking.
(4) Congress has historically recognized Stars and Stripes
as an independent journalistic organization serving members of
the Armed Forces and their families overseas.
(5) Stars and Stripes provides unique and sustained
coverage of issues affecting servicemember and veterans'
quality of life, including housing, health care, pay and
benefits, family readiness, training conditions, and the long-
term impacts of military service.
(6) Such reporting elevates concerns and experiences that
may otherwise receive limited attention, enabling policymakers
and the public to better understand the lived realities of
members of the Armed Forces and their families.
(7) Independent war reporting and coverage of military
operations demonstrate transparency and accountability to the
American public regarding the human, strategic, and financial
costs of armed conflict.
(8) 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 debate.
(9) 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 Stripes.
(10) The ability of defense journalists to operate without
censorship, undue influence, or retaliation is essential to
maintaining credibility, accuracy, and public trust.
(11) Protecting press freedom within the defense sector
strengthens national security by promoting accountability,
identifying inefficiencies or misconduct, and ensuring informed
debate on defense policy.
(12) Members of the Armed Forces, Department of Defense
civilian employees, and their families stationed overseas,
including in combat zones and other remote locations, often
rely upon Stars and Stripes as a primary source of independent
English-language news and information.
(13) Members of the Armed Forces, Department of Defense
civilian employees, and their families operate in information
environments that are frequent targets of foreign adversary
influence operations, including disinformation, propaganda, and
coordinated inauthentic behavior.
(14) Independent oversight and internal editorial review
mechanisms, including the Stars and Stripes Ombudsman, support
accountability and journalistic integrity.
(15) Congressional oversight is necessary to ensure that
Stars and Stripes is not subjected to censorship, ideological
influence, or political direction.
SEC. 3. INDEPENDENCE OF STARS AND STRIPES.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to codify the
requirements related to the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes
provided for in section 4.2 of Department of Defense Directive (DODD)
5122.11, dated October 11, 1993, and section 246.4(b) of title 32, Code
of Federal Regulations.
(b) Editorial Independence Requirement.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall ensure
that--
(A) editorial policies and practices of Stars and
Stripes are in accordance with journalistic standards
governing United States news media of the highest
quality, with emphasis on matters of interest to the
Stars and Stripes readership;
(B) Stars and Stripes' editorial operations are
independent of the military chain of command, military
public affairs activities, or other external
influences, and without censorship or propaganda;
(C) the Stars and Stripes publisher remains a
civilian government employee with independent
professional news media experience, who manages and
controls the day-to-day business and financial,
operational, and administrative activities, and
provides editorial oversight of Stars and Stripes;
(D) Stars and Stripes' reporters with access to
Department of Defense installations are authorized to
cover events or activities open to those with
installation access, even though commercial news media
may not have the same unescorted access;
(E) Stars and Stripes is a digital-first news
organization, but is also published in a print
newspaper edition at a frequency and distribution
determined by the publisher to best serve its
readership; and
(F) except as provided in paragraph (3), 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
Defense.
(2) Prohibition on withholding of unfavorable news.--The
calculated withholding from publication in Stars and Stripes of
news unfavorable to the Department of Defense, the military
services, or the United States Government is prohibited.
(3) Exceptions.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding the requirement
under paragraph (1), 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 security.
(B) Limitation.--The exceptions under subparagraph
(A) may not be construed to permit the calculated
withholding of news unfavorable to the Department of
Defense, the military services, or the United States
Government. Any security risk information shall not be
withheld without concurrence from both the Stars and
Stripes publisher and the relevant combatant commander.
(4) Stars and stripes personnel.--The exclusion of civilian
candidates for consideration for officer, journalist, or other
Stars and Stripes staff positions is prohibited.
(c) News Contracting.--Stars and Stripes shall not be prohibited
from purchasing, contracting for, or publishing news stories, features,
syndicated columns, comic strips, and editorial cartoons from
commercial news media services or sources.
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