Mac Thornberry

I'm for experimentation. I'm for trying things. That's true whether we're talking about hardware or personnel issues. We need to try some things, because doing what we have always done because we've always done it that way doesn't work.

If you endorse somebody, it's like a stamp of approval and embracing them.

We face a wide array of threats, which means we have to have a wide array of capabilities.

If you're an adult, if you are eligible to be drafted and vote, then there's a certain amount of decision-making power, and I think we have to be respectful of that.

It would be better for the country if the Pentagon and the military do not shut down at any point because the threats to the country do not shut down.

Any president has to work with Congress.

The Constitution places the responsibility on Congress for setting the size of the U.S. military, ensuring sufficient resources are in place to train and equip it, and funding maintenance programs and replacing worn-out equipment. We have a moral responsibility to ensure that our people are fully prepared and fully supported.

If China sets the rules for much of the world's economy, America will feel the consequences in our pocketbooks as well as in our security.

A military starved of resources, training, and equipment will not long be able to protect the country physically or economically.

Since World War II, the rules-based international order created and maintained by the United States has benefited peoples around the globe and none more so than Americans here at home.

We need a strong, vibrant economy to produce the tax revenue to fund our military.

To protect America's security, we are going to have to pull America's military out of the swamp of Washington politics.

For more than two centuries since winning our own freedom, we the people of the United States have repeatedly answered the call to lead the quest for freedom around the globe.

No other date on the calendar more potently symbolizes all that our nation stands for than the Fourth of July.

It is very distressing that anyone would look at these matters from a political viewpoint. Core beliefs about when life begins and ends are far too important for any such calculations.

The death tax robs parents of the opportunity to pass something along to their children, and it is responsible for destroying a lot of family-owned businesses.

In a budget this massive, there are certainly areas where I think we could do much better.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with those who say that the Global War on Terrorism is actually a Global War of Ideas and that terrorism is one of the tactics used in that War.

Energy is necessary for economic growth, for a better quality of life, and for human progress.

We must continue research into new forms of energy and into more efficient use of existing energy sources.