One of the key questions on just about everyone’s minds these days as the nation recalled a decade-ago horror is this: Are we safe from those who seek to do us harm? The nation is safer, but not yet safe. The 9/11 Commission issued a gigantic finding in 2004 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It identified huge holes in our nation’s security network. Agencies charged with keeping us safe weren’t able or willing to talk to each other e... Read more

Armed with a digital camera and a notebook, I pulled over across the road from a Pantex Plant gate on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and snapped photos of an armored vehicle guarding a key entrance. Within seconds, security officers toting M-16s hustled across the highway. I quickly showed them my ID, explained who I was and why I was there. The guards, polite and professional, resumed their watch. Pantex, I told my editors, seemed very secure. Thousands of plutonium weapons cores are stored at... Read more

The U.S. Navy is considering buying another 122 V-22 Ospreys from a joint Bell-Boeing partnership for about $8 billion. The proposed contract, now in its early stages, would supply the aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force through 2017 — renewing a current deal for five more years. Bell Helicopter employs more than 1,000 people — and plans this year to hire 140 more — in Amarillo, where workers assemble Ospreys and utility and attack helicopters. The jobs impact was uncertain, but... Read more

This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We also approach the 25th anniversary of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), created by Congress and activated in 1987. It is a good opportunity to look at how the threats to the United States have evolved, to review USSOCOM’s roles and missions, and to evaluate if and how those should change for the future. Also this year, the House Armed Services Committee, in particular the Subcommitte... Read more

The House Armed Services Committee investigates whether Congress should affirm and update the authorization for the use of military force that was passed in September 2001. Witnesses present include: The Honorable Michael Mukasey, Daniel Dell'Orto, Steven Engel, and Robert Chesney. Please click on a witness's name to find their biographical information. Read more

U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), who serves as the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, led a bipartisan group of lawmakers on a trip to Afghanistan over Memorial Day weekend. This is Thornberry’s second trip to the region in the last few months. “It is always helpful to talk to folks in the field and see them in action, and our Special Operations Forces are no exception. Their success in the bin Laden mission is clear and convincing. But, the work they are doing with the ... 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 2012 (H.R. 1540) by a vote of 60 to 1. The bill authorizes $690 billion in total spending for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy, including funding for projects at Pantex and Bell Helicopter. “In April, I again visited with our Armed Forces on the ... 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 2012 (H.R. 1540) by a vote of 60 to 1. Overall, the legislation would authorize $553 billion for the Department of Defense’s base budget, $119 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and $18 billion for the Department of Energy’s atomic energy defense programs. This includes funding for Sheppa... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration's rejection of a Texas Wild Fire Declaration: “It is unimaginable to me that the President would deny this application when so many Texas counties have been affected by devastating fires. A few counties in our area have already been individually approved for federal fire assistance, but we’re not giving up. We are going to keep fighting to get people the help they need to recover ... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement after the President's announcement that United States forces have killed Osama bin Laden: "While the death of Osama bin Laden does not remove the threat of terrorism, it is an important milestone. The credit for this success belongs primarily to the intelligence professionals who have hunted for him for years, following up lead after lead patiently and persistently, ... Read more