Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) made the following comments after the President announced that his Administration is making changes to immigration policy: "No one can deny that deciding what to do with children who were brought to this country illegally is a difficult problem. But it is wrong for the President to decide on his own which of our laws he will enforce and which laws he will not enforce. Even in an election year, our country is governed by the rule of law, not the arbitrary ... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement praising House passage of the FY13 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310): "This is a strong, bipartisan bill that supports our troops and their missions. At the same time, it also recognizes the realities of our financial situation and includes provisions that seek to make sure that taxpayers get every dollar of value possible for the money we spend for defense." "O... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, today announced that the Committee approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (H.R. 4310) by a vote of 56 to 5. The bill authorizes $642 billion in total spending for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy, including funding for programs at Amarillo’s Bell Helicopter plant and for operations at Pantex. “Clearly, we are oper... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, today announced that the committee approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (H.R. 4310) by a vote of 56 to 5. The bill authorizes $642 billion in total spending for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. It includes funding for programs at Sheppard Air Force Base. “Clearly, we are operating in a time of declining resourc... Read more

In an effort to begin addressing the nation’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed a number of bills to help protect private and public computer networks. Passage of the bills follows nearly a year of work on the issue in the House, led in part by area Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon). “Together, these bills begin to close the expanding gap between cyber threats and technological changes and the outdated laws and policies that cannot keep up with ... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) made the following comments after the Department of Labor announced the agency will no longer pursue the proposed rule dealing with children who work in agriculture: “I am pleased the Obama Administration has finally decided to withdraw its misguided rule that would have prevented youth from working on area farms and ranches as they have for generations. It is a small but important victory for common sense and a bit of relief for rural areas from the onsl... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry supported two bills this week to reform the regulatory process: the “Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011” (HR 527) and the “Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011” (HR 3010). “The House has passed over 10 bills this year aimed largely at reining-in agency rules already in the works,” said Thornberry. “HR 527 and HR 3010 get at the heart of the matter by overhauling the rulemaking process to force agencies of the Executive Branch to consider the cost of ... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) issued the following statement after the Super Committee announced there will not be an agreement before the deadline on November 23, 2011: "I am disappointed that the 'Super Committee' was unable to agree on a deficit reduction plan. This is a lost opportunity to make the long-term, structural changes to federal spending that need to be made." "While an agreement was not reached this week, it is still possible for the Congress to adopt a plan by Dec... Read more

By Rep. Mac Thornberry Special to Roll Call Nov. 21, 2011, Midnight No one has a crystal ball that can tell us what will happen in the future, especially with national security. But we can predict one thing based on past experience: There will be change and turbulence in the world. America needs to be prepared to deal with it. We face great security challenges in an increasingly interconnected world. We must be realistic about the dangers facing our country, whether from terrorism, aggressive ac... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) today voted to support a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution (H.J.RES.2). Even though the vote was bipartisan, it did not get the two-thirds votes required to pass (H.J.RES.2). Only 25 Democrats joined the vast majority of Republicans to support the measure. “This amendment would have forced Washington to balance its checkbook, like most Americans do. It is common sense and is the sort of real reform needed to change the way government oper... Read more