By Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) Special to Federal News Radio Original column can be found here. The nature of national security challenges is constantly changing. Over the centuries, our weapons have become more advanced, the strategies we use more complex and the battlefields on which we fight more varied. However, there has been no place where that evolution has been more rapid over the last decade than in cyberspace. Recently, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that the cyber threat we a... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) met with Texas law enforcement officials yesterday to discuss the proposed U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) station closures in Amarillo, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Abilene. Officials from about a dozen local law enforcement agencies took part in the meeting to voice their concerns over the proposed closures and to provide insight on how to ensure there is realistic coordination to fill any gaps in federal enforcement responsibilities for immigration. “... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the Intelligence Committee, made the following comments on the U.S. Embassy attacks in Libya and Egypt: "The deaths of the Americans serving our nation in Libya are tragic and unnecessary. It reminds us that duty stations in much of the world are dangerous and that most of us take that service for granted. The U.S. must insist that those responsible are brought to justice. Our prayers g... Read more

In an effort to help boost economic growth and jumpstart job creation, the U.S. House passed two measures this week aimed at tax relief for individuals, families, and businesses. Area Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) joined both Republicans and Democrats in voting to support the bills. “We need to create some certainty for taxpayers, including our small businesses which continue to struggle under the weight of looming tax increases and over-regulation,” said Rep. Thornberry. “Extending a... Read more

At a time when the House, Senate, and White House have been unable to come to agreement on a host of issues, the bipartisan consensus on the need to act on cybersecurity has offered some hope for action. The inability of the Senate to proceed to debate the various proposals is thus particularly disappointing. But there is a possible path forward. In April, the House passed four cybersecurity bills by strong majorities, thanks to work by Members on both sides of the aisle. Although these bills do... Read more

Comment from Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Cyber Security Task Force and Vice Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee: "I am disappointed that the Senate is not able to proceed on a cyber bill and am concerned that the Senate inaction may signal to others that we are incapable of taking steps toward improving our nation's cybersecurity. Our vulnerability is not a function of our adversaries' strengths; instead, it is a result of our failure to find common ground on this crit... Read more

The American people have always been resilient, especially during tough economic times. Our nation’s small business owners always find new and innovative ways to create and grow our private sector. The products and services they produce and the jobs they create are what drive our economy to prosper in good times and to recover in times of recession. In order to power our economy, though, our small businesses need an economic environment free from uncertainty about the regulations and taxes they ... Read more

This article first appeared in Politico on 7/26/12 There are a variety of opinions about the appropriate level of defense spending in the years ahead. Regardless of those differences, however, anyone who has examined the consequences of sequestration should agree that it would do severe damage to our security and must be stopped. The across-the-board cuts in every “program, project, or activity” were meant to be an unacceptable threat, which no one would allow to occur. The specter of deep, mind... Read more

In an ongoing effort to address serious concerns about the six Border Patrol Stations in North and West Texas, the offices of Rep. Mac Thornberry and other officials met with top officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting, organized by Thornberry’s staff, included a number of Texas House and Senate offices, as well as Governor Perry’s that share serious concerns about the station closure proposals. The Border Patrol presented the overview of its pla... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) issued the following comments after the U.S.House of Representatives voted again to repeal President Obama’s 2010 health care law with a bipartisan vote of 244 to 185: “The House has voted more than 30 times to repeal, dismantle, and defund different parts of the massive, 2000-plus page law with Republican and Democratic support. Today, we voted to entirely repeal it again. While the Supreme Court ruled the majority of the law was constitutional, that ce... Read more