Democrats are trying a new strategy to push back against new restrictions the Pentagon has placed on its longstanding in-house media outlet.

In recent months, the Department of Defense has taken steps to assert its power over Stars and Stripes, the military’s longstanding independent newspaper which sits within the department but has historically operated with broad editorial latitude. In April, the Pentagon fired its ombudsman, the person charged with overseeing the paper’s editorial content and independence and tasked with flagging potential issues to Congress. In a March memo, the department directed the newspaper to publish content consistent with “good order and discipline,” and made a series of content decisions including limiting syndication of external stories.

On Thursday, Senate Democrats announced plans to introduce new legislation aimed at restoring elements of the paper’s independence. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., authored the bill, details of which were shared first with Semafor, requiring that the newspaper exist independently from the military chain of command.

Censorship of news articles by the Pentagon would be prohibited under the legislation, except in the event of extreme circumstances that would endanger the lives of servicemembers. The new legislation would require the publisher of the newspaper to be a civilian outside of the military, and would require the Pentagon to allow Stars and Stripes journalists access to some military events closed to the broader press corps.

“For more than a century and a half, Stars and Stripes has told the story of our nation’s military with accuracy and integrity,” Shaheen said in a statement first shared with Semafor. “Our legislation makes clear that Stars and Stripes’ independence is not negotiable — nor can it be intimidated into only reporting stories that Secretary Hegseth approves of.”