U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry // Serving the People of the 13th District of Texas

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) introduced his first bill of the 115th Congress. The “Death Tax Repeal Act,” H.R. 198, will completely and permanently repeal the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes. The bill already has garnered 44 cosponsors. “This simple, two-page bill would permanently and fully eliminate the death tax, which undermines one of America’s most important means of capital formation: building a family enterprise,” said Thornberry. “Death should never ... Read more

U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry Sen. John Cornyn Wichita Falls Times Record News http://www.timesrecordnews.com/opinion/national/a-victory-for-all-american-private-property-owners-26a1fdc8-e081-3877-e053-0100007f6c98-361683461.html Imagine that you had worked hard to purchase a piece of property, pay your taxes on the land, and plan to pass it along to your children for their use and enjoyment. All seems well until an agency of the federal government decides that it really owns your land and swoops in ... Read more

The “Red River Private Property Protection Act,” H.R. 2130, introduced by U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), today passed the House of Representatives. The bill, which passed by a vote of 253-177, would provide legal certainty to landowners by ending any questions about the federal government's ownership of disputed land along the Red River. “This is a big victory for the landowners along the Red River and also for property owners everywhere who deserve to know that the federal gover... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) introduced the Federal Regulatory Certainty for Water Act, H.R. 2705, to clarify the definition of “navigable waters” in the Clean Water Act (CWA) to help protect private property owners from regulatory expansion by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). “Those who live and work in our part of Texas, especially the farmers and ranchers, understand the importance of clean water and work hard to be good ... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) yesterday voted in favor of a bill to repeal mandatory country of origin labeling, also known as “COOL,” for beef, pork, and poultry. Thornberry was an original cosponsor of the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015 (H.R. 2393) that passed the House by a vote of 300 to 131. “After several years of implementation, this rule has done little more than increase costs and decrease profits for farmers, ranchers, and producers along the supply c... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized the “Waters of the United States” regulation, which may have serious consequences for private landowners: “My staff is conducting a thorough review of the final rule, but I have little confidence that the EPA has addressed the concerns that many people, businesses, and other organizations have raised with this particular reg... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced legislation today in the U.S. House and Senate, H.R. 2130 and S. 1153 respectively, to protect private property rights along the Red River from federal ownership claims. By providing legal certainty to landowners, the Red River Private Property Protection Act seeks to end questions about the federal government's ownership of disputed land along the Red River. “Private landowners deserve absolute clarity fro... Read more

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) voted this week in support of two bills to rein in overly-aggressive regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by making the agency more transparent and accountable. Both bills passed with bipartisan support in the House. “People are sick and tired of regulations that hurt jobs and our economy, but what is more upsetting is that those regulations are often based on science and research that is never made available to the public,” sai... Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending bill yesterday that provides funding for nearly all of the government’s operations through the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2015. The exception is the Department of Homeland Security, which will receive funding for less than 90 days, expiring on February 27, 2015. Under the agreement, overall discretionary spending has been reduced by $165 billion since Fiscal Year 2010. The legislation passed with a bipartisan vote of 219 to 206. Cong... Read more

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) made the following comments after the House passed the five-year farm bill with strong bipartisan support on a vote of 251 to 166: "Agriculture and all of its supporting industries desperately need a five-year farm bill and the stability it brings. This legislation offers that stability after years of uncertainty, waiting, and short-term fixes, and it does so ahead of the spring planting season. The biggest issue facing agriculture in my district and thro... Read more