PARIS - Yesterday, a Congressional Delegation led by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and including Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), honored the fallen at the Belleau Wood Battlefield , and the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France. The Battle of Belleau Wood took place in June, 1918 and ... Read More »
Today, the House passed H.R. 5515, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 with a vote of 351-66. Upon passage, Chairman Thornberry (R-TX), of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following remarks: "For the 58th straight year, the House has passed the NDAA with overwhelming bipartisan support. The key focus of this bill is restoring readiness to ensure that when... Read More »
As Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said, "In the Indo-Pacific region, the United States faces a near-term, belligerent threat armed with nuclear weapons and also a longer-term strategic competitor. In fact, four of the five key security challenges -- China, Russia, North Korea, and terrorism -- reside in the PACOM area of responsibility. Critical to meeting all of the challenges in the region is ou... Read More »
Through the NDAA, Congress will confront Iran by: Revitalizing alliances and partnerships as a bulwark against Iranian influence; Ensuring that the United States has the military posture it needs in the region to adequately deter Iranian aggression; and, Increasing pressure on Iran's proxy network in places like Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Revitalizing Partnerships while Countering Proxies: Calls on t... Read More »
COUNTERING MALIGN FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGNS China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran all take advantage of America's open society to launch malign influence campaigns against the United States and our allies. While these campaigns are the result of centralized government strategies, America's response is often decentralized or poorly-coordinated. To counter malign foreign influence campaigns, the N... Read More »
On May 10, 2018, the FY19 NDAA passed the Armed Services Committee with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 60 to 1. The bill does the following: Supports necessary increase in topline funding to support our troops and readiness recovery consistent with President Trump's commitment to rebuild the military. Pay raise of 2.6% for our troops - Largest in 9 years. Increase the size of Army, Navy, Air F... Read More »
This week, H.R. 5515, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 heads to the House Floor. Tracking the Floor Debate The House Armed Services Committee will maintain a dynamic Floor Tracker for amendments to H.R. 5515, the FY19 NDAA. The HASC Tracker will display a list of upcoming amendments and the order in which they will be considered, as well as a list of already-consi... Read More »
JERUSALEM — A congressional delegation, led by Readiness Subcommittee Chairman Joe Wilson (R-SC), visited Israel this week to meet with senior government officials and to participate in the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The delegation discussed the critical U.S.-Israeli alliance, received an on-the-ground update on the security challenges in the region, and discussed ongoing securi... Read More »
Chairman Mac Thornberry of the House Armed Services Committee made the following statement after the Committee approved the FY19 NDAA with a bipartisan vote of 60 to 1: "This defense bill, which is once again the product of strong bipartisan work, takes the crucial next steps to rebuilding our military and reforming the Pentagon. Both are essential to helping our troops prepare and respond to the ... Read More »
Today, Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) will lead the House Armed Services Committee as it marks up H.R. 5515, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. To watch the Markup tune in here. For bill text and the summary click here. The Chairman made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on today's markup: "The Committee meets to consider and mark up H.R. 5515, the National... Read More »
Military Times - By: Tara Copp Fatal military aviation accidents have reached a six-year high, in both the number of accidents and the number of pilots and crews killed, a Military Times investigation has found. So far, 12 fatal accidents — 11 crashes and one ground incident — in fiscal year 2018, which began Oct. 1, have claimed the lives of 35 military pilots and crew. It's the highest number of... Read More »
Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following remarks regarding the President's announcement on the Iran Deal: "I have no doubt that the JCPOA was flawed and that for years Iran has been deceptive about its nuclear and other programs. My preference would have been to give our European allies a few more months to strengthen the deal, but now that the Pres... Read More »
The Problem: Russia's military and political strength grew to their present and increasingly-threatening state during the eight years of the Obama Administration, which scoffed at the idea of Russia as a geopolitical threat. As Secretary Mattis said, "Russia also continues to modernize and invest across the full range of military capability, including new aircraft, submarines, armor, counter-space... Read More »
Today, Chairman Thornberry (R-TX) released his proposal for H.R. 5515, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. To view the bill text click here. For the bill summary click here. The Chairman made the following remarks on his proposal below: "Restoring readiness while also increasing the capability and capacity of our Armed Forces is a key focus of this year's defense policy bi... Read More »
