William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry

Anywhere in America there is a criminal investigation, it might be pointed out to a criminal suspect that it would be better to cooperate or the death penalty could be a potential punishment for his crime. It is against the law under this…

I am perhaps, however, a lonely voice expressing caution about the number of reports that accumulate on top of one another year after year after year and weigh down our intelligence community. I mentioned earlier that there are 41 new…

Mr. Speaker, it is very, very important that we ensure that our intelligence professionals and our law enforcement professionals have the tools and the support they need to do their job. And we should never forget that their job is to…

In many ways, this bill is a tale of two bills. Part of this bill is the classified annex where specific dollar amounts are allocated to various programs. And the classified annex, I'm happy to report, is a bipartisan product. And I…

A few moments ago, a Member stated that the McDermott language only restates what's in current law. I would be very interested for any Member who can come to the floor and tell me where in current law it says any officer or employee of the…

The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) has been a forceful and eloquent advocate for greater diversity in the intelligence community. And he's exactly right: we will be more effective when we have greater diversity in the intelligence…

I think it is important to step back and put this bill in a bit of context. The Intelligence Committee reported H.R. 2701 out of committee on June 26, 2009, by a vote of 12-9 and the Rules Committee first reported a rule for its…

I agree with much of what has been said on the other side of the aisle about the good provisions in this bill. I am also disappointed, as the ranking member talked about, that a number of substantive issues were not even allowed to be…

Just to emphasize the point made earlier by the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), as we come today to honor those who sacrifice their lives and their families for their sacrifice, as we come today to honor and express our appreciation…

the compromise bill before us today is not the bill that I would have written. As a matter of fact, the compromise Senate bill we have been trying to get a vote on since February is not the bill I would have written either. But I do…

I support this amendment. I want to commend Chairman Skelton and Chairman Berman and Chairwoman Lowey for working together. It is something that does not often happen in this body to have three different Chairs work together on a common…

this amendment prohibits under all circumstances a contractor from interrogating a detainee. Now, it is often the case that the most qualified and the most experienced person to conduct an interrogation is a contract employee. As the…

this idea has been proposed and rejected before, partly because it makes no sense to stop what is happening on the battlefield and go film. The author of this amendment says, no, it only applies to theater level detention facilities. The…

Let me suggest three reasons why he does not have a better idea. Number one, the bill before us sets up a new process to adjudicate immunity. Now, if a company voluntarily answered the request of their government, they did not do so to get…

I think the comments from the last speaker are very enlightening on this debate because we have heard for month after month the same arguments made time and time again, and the bottom line is there are a number of Members who are not for…

I rise in disappointment, really, of this bill. There is no doubt that there are a number of good provisions in it, thanks to the work of the chairman, ranking member and others. But I believe that we could and we should have done better…

The operative part of this bill is a short paragraph which essentially brings up the checks and balances that were originally in the 1978 FISA and brings it up to 2007 technology. That is what's going on here. Now, there are some people…

as I read this resolution, I can't help but think ``there they go again.'' With approval ratings of Congress near record lows, the majority leadership searches the polls for any issue they can use to political advantage. Unfortunately…

I have been around and worked with horses all my life. I think I have as much appreciation and admiration for these creatures as anyone in this body; but I am very much opposed to this bill, first, because, contrary to, I am sure, the…

I would yield myself the remainder of the time allocated to the Intelligence Committee. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 2\1/2\ minutes.

I have listened to the first 5 hours of this debate, trying to listen carefully to each speaker. And it seems to me that some people try, as best they can, to isolate Iraq from the rest of the war on terror. Now, that may be politically…

I thank Chairman Hoekstra for all of his work in this area. Mr. Chairman, there is no perfect bill that comes across this floor. And particularly in the area of intelligence, there is no perfect amount of information that tells us…

I appreciate the gentlemen working on this. If I can emphasize one thing, it is hard for the pictures to convey the magnitude of this disaster. When you have more than 3.5 million acres that are devastated, 12,000 head of cattle, it is a…

understandably in this debate, we tend to emphasize our differences, but I think it is important to step back a little bit and remember that the basic premise upon which the 9/11 Commission report is based and upon which this legislation…

there are many ways to serve our country. We are most mindful of the men and women serving on the front lines of the war on terrorism, who risk or even lose their lives for our freedom and security. But as Ken Towery, a remarkable man who…