Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the nomination of Patrick Shanahan to be Secretary of Defense:"I applaud the nomination of Pat Shanahan to be Secretary of Defense. Today, the United States faces an unprecedented spectrum of serious threats. Facing those threats requires a new kind of thinking and a Pentagon… Read more »
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) this week took the first legislative step to begin the process of crafting the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), by introducing H.R. 2500, the "by request" version of the bill. This procedural measure is the first step in the legislative process for the NDAA. The… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the crisis in Venezuela:"I recently visited the Venezuelan border with House Republican Leader McCarthy. It was clear that the people we met there are desperate to get out from oppression. More than 50 nations have recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate President of the… Read more »
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) today issued the following statement on the passing of former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher: "The passing of former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher is a terrible loss for the nation, California, and those like us who were lucky enough to call her both a colleague and friend. Throughout… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement following an address by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to a joint session of Congress on the seventieth anniversary of the founding of NATO. Thornberry said: "The Secretary General delivered to Congress a powerful affirmation of the value of the NATO alliance and of… Read more »
Yesterday the Missile Defense Agency conducted the most complex test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System ever attempted. Preliminary results indicate that the test met all primary objectives successfully. The test involved two ground-based interceptors, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, and one ICBM-class target. You can watch video of the test here. Rep. Mac Thornberry… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the liberation of ISIS-controlled territory in Iraq and Syria:"We have reached a significant milestone in the fight against terrorists. The premature withdrawal of the United States from Iraq in 2011 led, in part, to the rise of ISIS and its control of large territories. The… Read more »
Today, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee- together with all other Republican members of the Committee- officially delivered their "views and estimates" of the President's FY20 DOD budget request to the House Budget Committee. In part, the Members said: "The primary job of the federal government is to provide for the common defense; yet… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the President's FY20 budget request for the Department of Defense. The White House is expected to request $750 billion in DOD funding, $34 billion over FY19 funding levels. After accounting for inflation, the budget request represents only a 2.7% increase in real growth from… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on efforts to eliminate North Korea's nuclear weapons program and the recent summit in Vietnam. "North Korea's nuclear and missile arsenal pose a threat to global security and to the American people and homeland. The Administration's diplomatic efforts, including its economic… Read more »
Thornberry on Resolution of DisapprovalRep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the resolution of disapproval of the President's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border. "I believe that the security situation on the southern border is critical with circumstances that we have never had to address… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the President's signing of Space Policy Directive 4, a directive that centralizes military space activities in a new Space Force embedded within the Air Force. "This is an important next step towards real reform of national security space where we face real threats posed by… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the President's apparent decision to declare a national emergency to provide additional resources for border security. "Each of the past five Administrations – Republican and Democrat – have sent military personnel and resources to our southern border. It should… Read more »
Members of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness hosted a roundtable today with military families who shared their experiences with privatized military housing. Recent reports from military families to the Committee and in the media have raised serious concerns about conditions in some military family housing. This was the third interaction Committee Members or staff have had… Read more »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the life and service of Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC). "Walter Jones' service to his country will be remembered for his dogged advocacy for his constituents, his love for the Marine Corps, his willingness to ask tough - even unpopular- questions, and his unflinching patriotism. He… Read more »
