Press Releases

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the passage of Department of Defense appropriations for FY2020:"Today the House will appropriate essential funding for our troops and the Department of Defense. This action comes nearly three months into the fiscal year, but it is not substantially different from the version… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee made the following statement on the passage of the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 377-48:"This was a challenging year, starting with two different bills that were far apart. But, for the 59th consecutive year, we were able to come to an agreement for our men and women in uniform and… Read more »

Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today announced details of the Conference Report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which authorizes… Read more »

On the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the contributions of the alliance:"As NATO leaders gather in London to mark the 70th anniversary of NATO's founding, it is worth remembering that NATO is unquestionably the most successful military alliance in history. "It has… Read more »

On December 3rd, Reps Adam Smith (D-WA), Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee respectively, together with Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Trent Kelly (R-MS), will host dozens of military spouses as they kick off their "storm the Hill with kindness" effort on Giving… Read more »

Reps Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Kay Granger (R-TX) and Steve Womack (R-AR), Republican leaders of the House Armed Services, Appropriations, and Budget Committees respectively, issued a stark warning to their colleagues today on the damage a full-year continuing resolution would do to America's military. That damage is detailed in a fact sheet that accompanies their warning. "Across the… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: "Killing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is an important achievement in the fight against ISIS. I am grateful to our men and women in uniform, our intelligence professionals, and our allies who contributed to this success. We have robbed… Read more »

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) announced the official activation of the Future of Defense Task Force.The bipartisan Future of Defense Task Force is chartered to review U.S. defense assets and capabilities and assess the state of the national security innovation base to meet emerging threats. The Task Force is… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on US policy in Syria: "It would be a grave mistake for Turkey to send its military forces into Syria provoking hostilities with the Syrian Democratic Forces. It would also be a grave mistake for the U.S. to unilaterally withdraw from Syria or to acquiesce in any way to a… Read more »

An approaching deadline of October 1 will help signal whether the Department of Defense is serious about reducing inefficiency in defense agencies known as the Fourth Estate. Reforms mandated by Congress in the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act require DOD to achieve 25% savings from civilian management, logistics management, services contracting, and real estate management. The… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the proposed Continuing Resolution to fund the military through November."The budget deal we reached earlier this year was intended to give our military stable and predictable funding. While the deal did not provide all the funding I believe our military needs, it made up for… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, congratulates the following Republican members of the Committee who have been named by House Leadership to serve on the House-Senate Conference Committee to resolve the differences in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.The following Republican Members of the House Armed Services… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee made the following statement on the diversion of military construction funds for border security: "We continue to face a very real crisis at the southern border. I regret that the President has been forced to divert funding for our troops to address the crisis. His initial requests to secure the border were… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee today echoed Secretary Esper's call on Congress to pass the FY20 NDAA and Defense Appropriations before the end of the Fiscal Year. "Our troops have been held hostage to protracted political fights for too long. Those fights, and the inadequate budgets they produced, contributed to a readiness crisis we are… Read more »

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the budget deal reached between Congressional Leadership and the White House: ​ "Three years ago, America's military was hobbled by a readiness crisis that left all of us less safe. Too few planes could fly, too few ships could sail, and too few troops were ready to… Read more »