U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry, the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, announced the appointment of four area high school graduates to U.S. Service Academies, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs. The 2013 appointees from the 13th U.S. Congressional District of Texas are Derrick Siebman of Childress, Nan Porter of Amarillo, Andrew Long of Wichita Falls, and Jake Willimon of Spearman. “A... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) made the following comments after the Farm Bill failed to pass the House: “I am disappointed that the Farm Bill did not pass the House this afternoon. Our farmers and ranchers need to know what our nation’s agriculture policy is going be, especially after dealing with several years of market volatility and the effects of Mother Nature. This is especially true in our part of Texas as the economy relies heavily on agriculture production. In addition to... Read more

A surge in migrant traffic across the Southwest border into Texas has resulted in a milestone: the front line of the battle against illegal crossings from Mexico has shifted for the first time in over a decade away from Arizona to the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. This shift has intensified a bitter debate under way in the Senate over whether the border is secure enough now, or ever will be, to move ahead with legislation that could give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants alread... Read more

Recent polls suggest that trust in the federal government remains near a historic low, while frustration with government remains high. These sentiments have been fueled by the terrorist attack in Benghazi, the Justice Department’s investigation of reporters, and the IRS scandal. Coming on the heels of these troubling headlines are leaks about national security programs aimed at preventing terrorist attacks. However, it would be wrong to lump all of these controversies into a single bucket. There... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following comments after the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The vote was 315 to 108: “Budgets are shrinking, but the threats to our country are not. This strong, bipartisan bill reflects both of these realities, while also providing significant support for our fighting forces, offering additional resources for other national security efforts,... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry, the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, announced today that the Committee approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, H.R. 1960, by a vote of 59 to 2. The legislation authorizes $552.1 billion in budget authority for the Department of Defense (DoD) and national security programs of the Department of Energy (DOE). “We task our military forces, from the Joint Chiefs down to the newest recruits, with the first job of the f... Read more

OPINION May 27, 2013, 7:11 p.m. ET By MAC THORNBERRY Last week, President Obama laid out his revised vision for U.S. counterterrorism policy. The president mentioned that he looks forward to "actively engaging Congress" on oversight of counterterrorism operations. Though consultation and engagement by the White House on national security has been too rare, many of us in Congress welcome a new chance at cooperation. More than a decade after Sept. 11, 2001, it is clear that the terrorist threat ha... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) introduced a bill on Thursday, H.R. 2202, which would make the excise tax on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and diesel comparable on an energy-equivalent basis. Thornberry was joined by Rep. John Larson of Connecticut in introducing the “LNG Excise Tax Equalization Act of 2013” in the U.S. House of Representatives. Currently, the federal excise tax on LNG and diesel is set at 24.3 cents per gallon. Because it takes 1.7 gallons of LNG to produce the same... Read more

This week, U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) introduced the latest version of his bill to promote domestic energy production. H.R. 2081, the “No More Excuses Energy Act of 2013,” would encourage the production of all forms of domestic energy including oil and gas, nuclear, and alternative energy and fuels. “Congress needs to reduce the amount of regulation coming out of Washington and encourage all forms of energy production here at home,” said Thornberry. “We need national energy po... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, made the following statement about President Obama's national security speech: "Most disturbing to me in the President's speech today was the idea that we can simply declare Al Qaeda beaten and go back to the pre-9/11 era. When he said that these issues of national security are serious ones, which we should not gloss over, I agree. Wishing the ... Read more