From a bipartisan group of Senators: > We understand that DoD plans to cease publication of Stars and Stripes on September 30, 2020 and completely dissolve the

From a bipartisan group of Senators: > We understand that DoD plans to cease publication of Stars and Stripes on September 30, 2020 and completely dissolve the organization by January 31, 2021 as a result of the proposed termination of funding in the fiscal year 2021 President’s budget. We urge you to take steps to preserve the funding prerogatives of Congress before allowing any such disruption to take place, for the following reasons. > First, the House-passed version of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2021, contains additional funding not requested by the Administration to continue operating Stars and Stripes. Second, the Senate has not yet released a defense appropriations bill, nor had an opportunity to conference with the House position, leaving it as a real possibility that Congress may not agree with the proposal to eliminate this funding. Third, the standard text of a continuing resolution – that funds are provided “at a rate of operations… for continuing projects and activities” as provided for in the previous year’s Department of Defense Appropriations Act – places a legal obligation on the Department to not act on a termination of a program until a full-year appropriations bill is enacted. We seek your written assurance that the Department will comply with this obligation and avoid steps that would preempt the funding prerogatives of Congress. https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/9/boozman-colleagues-urge-dod-to-reinstate-stars-and-stripes-funding https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/9/boozm... Additional coverage: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/09/02/senators-esper-reverse-your-decision-kill-stars-and-stripes.html https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/09/02/senators-espe... https://www.stripes.com/news/us/bipartisan-group-of-senators-urges-esper-to-keep-funding-stars-and-stripes-1.643650 https://www.stripes.com/news/us/bipartisan-group-of-senators...