Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Protecting Pentagon Press Access Act

Purpose

The purposes of this Act are—(1)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 2025; and(2)to remove unreasonable restrictions on credentialed journalists imposed by Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, including restrictions imposed by the May 23, 2025, Secretary of Defense Memorandum titled Updated Physical Control Measures for Press/Media Access Within the Pentagon and the October 6, 2025, Secretary of Defense Memorandum titled Implementation of New Media In-brief.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings:(1)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 account.(2)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 information.(3)Since the founding of the Department of Defense, credentialed journalists have been allowed to access unsecured areas of the Pentagon to conduct thorough, reliable, and timely reporting.(4)From the earliest days of the Pentagon, the Department has also provided credentialed journalists with dedicated physical space, opening a combined National Defense press room in 1948 and providing cubicles, desks, telephone lines, and other tools for reporters to work from inside the building.(5)In 1972, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, under President Richard Nixon, designated the Pentagon press space as the Correspondents' Corridor, and said, 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 balances. When civilian and military members of this department take the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, that also, of course, includes the First Amendment..(6)Robert Sims, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs for President Ronald Reagan, 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 Pentagon.(7)Over the course of many decades, the Department of Defense had diligently worked to preserve the access of reporters to the Pentagon, even during extraordinary circumstances, including by ensuring reporters were able to return to the Pentagon within hours of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and by maintaining access for reporters throughout the COVID–19 pandemic.(8)In a policy imposed by Secretary Hegseth in 2025, the Department, for the first time, restricted credentialed journalists from actively soliciting unauthorized information or engaging in activity the Department considers unprofessional.(9)In 2026, the Department announced a new policy that would require journalists to work in an annex facility outside the Pentagon, redesignated the Pentagon Press Office as a secure space, and required reporters for the first time to have a military escort when present anywhere within the Pentagon.(10)Secretary Hegseth identified no new security risk or misconduct that required such a policy.(11)At the same time, the Department has drastically curtailed formal live on-camera press briefings with credentialed journalists.

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that—(1)a press whose ability to investigate and publish is overly constrained by government regulation is neither free nor vibrant;(2)United States citizens have a right to better understand the policies, programs, and operations being pursued by the Department of Defense, the objectives of the leaders of the Department, the effectiveness of such leadership, and how the Department employs and deploys personnel and spends the tax dollars of citizens;(3)press access to the Pentagon informs and serves the public interests described in paragraph (2);(4)reliable, independent, and comprehensive reporting on the Department of Defense—(A)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 Forces;(B)promotes the broad public understanding and support of the Armed Forces needed to attain the national security objectives of the United States; and(C)requires information beyond official government briefings and materials, including information facilitated by the ability of reporters to work and gather news inside the Pentagon; and(5)press access to the Pentagon is essential for meaningful oversight and enables reporting that informs Congress in carrying out its legislative authority, including by surfacing information that serves as the basis for investigative inquiries, reports, hearings, and legislation.

Restoring Pentagon press access

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall—(1)restore to the press access to areas of the Pentagon that were accessible to appropriately credentialed journalists on May 22, 2025, including the Correspondents' Corridor and other designated press working spaces;(2)restore to appropriately credentialed journalists unescorted access to areas of the Pentagon that were accessible without an escort on May 22, 2025;(3)require the Secretary to ensure the integrity of the process to issue to reporters a Pentagon Facilities Alternative Credential, including by—(A)designating the Pentagon Force Protection Agency as responsible for the security review;(B)ensuring that the security review described in subparagraph (A) is conducted by career officials without unnecessary delays, political influence, or other influence by the Office of Public Affairs of the Department of Defense; and(C)requiring that the security review described in subparagraph (A) is timely, determinative, not subject to reversal by or at the direction of political appointees, and not subject to agreement with any policy that seeks to restrict First Amendment activities; and(4)prohibit any changes to press access at the Pentagon, including the designation of press work spaces, access areas, and press credentials, without prior consultation with the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.