Congresswoman Elaine Luria Voices Strong Opposition to Secretary Esper's Decision to Eliminate Stars and Stripes

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Luria joined nine of her colleagues in voicing their strong opposition to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper's decision to eliminate Stars and Stripes and calling on the Department of Defense to protect the editorially independent publication that has provided news for millions of active-duty members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families since it was founded by Union soldiers in 1861.

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 Fiscal Year 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.

"Stars and Stripes is an invaluable resource for our servicemembers," said Congresswoman Luria. "For those that swore an oath to defend and uphold the rights enshrined in the Constitution, Stars and Stripes embodies the American rights to freedom of speech and free press. 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."

The letter was also signed by Reps. Jason Crow, Adam Schiff, Ruben Gallego, André D. Carson, Seth Moulton, Jimmy Panetta, Jamie Raskin, Abigail Spanberger, and Lori Trahan.

Click here to read the full text of the letter.

Congresswoman Elaine Luria represents Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where she is the Vice Chair of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where she serves as Chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee.

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