Crow, Schiff, Gallego, and Seven Lawmakers Call on Department of Defense to Protect Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON - Today, Reps. Jason Crow (CO-06), Adam Schiff (CA- 28), and Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) led a letter with seven members of Congress to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper calling on the Department of Defense to protect Stars and Stripes, the editorially independent publication that has provided news for over millions of active-duty members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families for generations.

The letter follows last week's report that the Pentagon ordered Stars and Stripes to prepare to shutter. Although the President subsequently announced funding for Stars and Stripes would not be cut, the Department of Defense has not yet confirmed this policy reversal. The House of Representatives has supported restored funding in its passage of the National Defense Authorization Act and the FY 2021 Defense appropriations bill. While the Senate has yet to take up a defense appropriations bill, a bipartisan group of fifteen Senators sent a letter to Secretary Esper expressing concern regarding proposed cuts to the news outlet last week.

In the letter, the House lawmakers write, "Beyond serving as a reminder of home, the journalists at Stars and Stripes provide over 1 million daily readers with unfiltered news and perspective free of institutional bias. Generations of military and civilian leaders have found that journalistic independence to be fundamental and fought to preserve it when misguided officials sought to impose restrictions. For those that swore an oath to defend and uphold the rights enshrined in the Constitution, Stars and Stripesembodies the American right to freedom of speech and free press. The existence of the paper within the Department of Defense demonstrates the deep commitment to not only protect those rights but live them...We want to make it clear that we stand with the dedicated journalists at Stars and Stripes that have devoted their lives to providing unbiased news, and with the millions of Armed Forces members who benefit from their work."

In addition to Crow, Schiff, and Gallego the letter was signed by Reps. André D. Carson, Elaine Luria, Seth Moulton, Jimmy Panetta, Jamie Raskin, Abigail Spanberger, and Lori Trahan.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

The Honorable Mark T. Esper

Department of Defense

1000 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Secretary Esper:

We write in strong opposition to your recent decision to eliminate Stars and Stripes, the only journalistically independent news source within the Department of Defense.

Since its founding 159 years ago, Stars and Stripes has provided servicemembers, Department of Defense civilians, and military families around the world with daily information on the issues that matter most to them. The experience of military service brings unique concerns that oftentimes only the journalists with Stars and Stripes have the understanding and direct access required to address. To meet the challenge of serving an audience stationed across the globe, including in combat zones, Stars and Stripes maintains thirteen international printing centers across three continents. No matter how far from home a servicemember may be stationed, they can be assured that they are still within the global reach of Stars and Stripes.

Beyond serving as a reminder of home, the journalists at Stars and Stripes provide over 1 million daily readers with unfiltered news and perspective free of institutional bias. Generations of military and civilian leaders have found that journalistic independence to be fundamental and fought to preserve it when misguided officials sought to impose restrictions. For those that swore an oath to defend and uphold the rights enshrined in the Constitution, Stars and Stripes embodies the American right to freedom of speech and free press. The existence of the paper within the Department of Defense demonstrates the deep commitment to not only protect those rights but live them.

We are pleased that the President has since committed to fully funding Stars and Stripes, though we note that there has been no official confirmation of this decision and that the President's fiscal year 2021 budget eliminated funding altogether. So that there is no further misunderstanding, we want to make it clear that we stand with the dedicated journalists at Stars and Stripes that have devoted their lives to providing unbiased news, and with the millions of Armed Forces members who benefit from their work. Any ill-fated attempts to undermine their mission or censor their work would meet staunch Congressional opposition and would assuredly be defeated.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and your service to our servicemembers and their families.

Sincerely,

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