William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I certainly appreciate the gentleman from California's commitment to deficit reduction, but I'm afraid that this particular amendment is short-sighted. In Afghanistan and elsewhere…

It is true that the Department of Defense ought to always be examining where we have troops deployed around the world, and that is appropriate for them. It is not appropriate, however, for us to arbitrarily tell them that they will have…

I would yield myself 30 seconds simply to say I understand the gentleman's argument. I would simply say the Defense Science Board has looked at this program, and it comes to a different conclusion. They believe this program has potentially…

There have clearly been a number of wild exaggerations and mischaracterizations about the effect of section 1034. If Members have any doubt about where the truth lies, I recommend you look at editorials in The Washington Post, the L. A…

I would just say that there are provisions in this bill related to cybersecurity. It is not as if we are doing nothing. Yet, as I noted in the comments I made in the general debate portion of this bill, there is much work ahead. I have no…

I think the bottom line here is that the American people have made their views on this subject quite clear, and their views are they do not want Guantanamo terrorists brought here to our homeland. And that view has been reflected in…

In addition, I think it should be pointed out that in the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, the Congress required that the Panel on Contracting Integrity review policies related to post-employment restrictions. Now that report is…

How much time remains for me? The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman has 2\1/2\ minutes remaining.

I thank the chairman for yielding. And, Mr. Chairman, I first want to commend the chairman of the committee and Ranking Member Smith for their leadership in shepherding a complex and important bill to this stage of the process. A 60-1 vote…

I thank the gentlelady for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this week General Petraeus testified before Congress, and the essence of his testimony was that we are just now getting the necessary assets in place to make a difference in Afghanistan…

The reason we have troops in Afghanistan is to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a sanctuary from which terrorists will launch attacks against us. For us to one day be able to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan, the Afghan people…

I, too, want to rise and express my respect and gratitude for a number of the senior members of this committee who will not be with us in the next Congress: the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), the gentleman from Mississippi…

I don't see how any Member can come and congratulate ourselves on finally getting an intelligence authorization bill to the floor that doesn't even have a classified annex to it. It doesn't seem to me to be a real bill at all…

Let me just say that I agree with the gentleman from New Jersey that we do have an independent constitutional responsibility to obtain the information that is necessary for us to do our job, not just on covert action but on all…

Madam Speaker, one of the things that most Americans don't realize is to what extent the Speaker, through the Rules Committee, controls this House and even what we can vote on. She determines what bills will be brought here, even what…

This bill will allow a parent to be eligible for a State veterans home if they have lost a child while serving in the military. Now, there are 137 State veterans homes in all 50 States. Those States will still be able to determine the…

I certainly agree with the distinguished Speaker about the importance of our role in national security and the importance of Congress' role in overseeing the intelligence community. I agree that national security is the first job of the…

I think the first and probably most important point to make on this amendment is that it does not belong on this bill and it imperils the whole bill. This issue about whether to expand GAO's authority to be able to investigate the…

For the first time since the modern Budget Act was passed in 1974, the House will not pass a budget this year, for the first time in 35 years. This dereliction of duty is important for at least two reasons: One, a budget is the first and…

The Founding Fathers established this Congress so that individuals would be elected from all over the country, come here with different points of view, discuss those views, yes, but ultimately take a vote on the issues of the day. And then…

Mr. Speaker, since a number of our colleagues were watching the events or participating in the events at the White House yesterday, I think it's important to review briefly the history of this legislation. The Intelligence Committee…

We also see that ``blame the intelligence professionals first'' mentality when someone as distinguished as the Speaker of the House, under political pressure, just accuses them of lying all the time. That's the sort of mentality that gets…

It is absolutely true that much of the information that the United States has received since 9/11 which has prevented further successful terrorist attacks on our homeland has come from interrogations. That is why it is so important that we…

I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. Now, remember, we can't have debates on serious issues regarding Guantanamo, Miranda rights and other things. What is hitting in this blizzard of reports are several pages which say, if our…

Remember, the Army field manual has been published so that terrorists all around the world know what we will and will not do to them. This will take it another step forward and actually give terrorists more rights, more consideration than…