[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 214 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MAC THORNBERRY

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the first name I want to mention is Mac 
Thornberry. Mac is the dean of the Texas delegation. His district is 
the second largest in Texas, and comprises parts of 41 different 
counties. It stretches from the suburbs of Dallas, across Wichita 
Falls, Amarillo, and most of the Texas Panhandle.
  The folks throughout Texas 13 couldn't have asked for a stronger 
advocate over these last 26 years than Mac. His background as a 
rancher, a former Capitol Hill staffer, and a State Department official 
under the Reagan administration, then brought him to Congress with a 
well-rounded view of the problems facing our country. He possessed the 
leadership characteristics needed to address each of those.
  He spent his time here consistently fighting to rein in government 
spending--something that, as the Presiding Officer knows, sometimes 
seems like a futile task but necessary.
  He has consistently fought to protect our freedoms and liberties and 
ensure that all Texans have a shot at the American dream.
  We have worked together many times over the years on everything from 
protecting the property rights of folks along the Red River to renaming 
the Amarillo courthouse after a trailblazing Texan, Mary Lou Robinson.
  There is no question that some of his greatest accomplishments are 
related to our national defense. Mac has served on the House Armed 
Services Committee throughout his time in Congress, and he became the 
first Texan of either party to chair that committee. He has used this 
important and powerful post to ensure that our servicemembers have what 
they need to defend our freedoms abroad and the training and the 
equipment to make it home safely.
  He has done a lot--more than most--to improve military readiness, 
including through needed improvements at our Texas military 
installations. I remember visiting Sheppard Air Force Base in Mac's 
district with him a couple of years ago and being taken aback by the 
look of admiration and appreciation on the faces of those airmen we 
encountered who knew of Mac's incredible advocacy on their behalf.
  It is appropriate that the National Defense Authorization Act that 
just passed both Chambers of Congress carries his name--the Mac 
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act. There could not be a 
more fitting tribute to the countless ways our friend from Clarendon 
has improved our great country.
  I want to thank Mac for his incredible leadership, as well as his 
service and his friendship over the years. The halls of Congress won't 
be the same without him, but I know he is eager to spend more time with 
his wonderful wife Sally and the rest of their extended family.
  Mac has done what we all aspire to do, and that is to leave Congress 
better than he found it, and I thank him on behalf of all Texans for 
the true patriot that he is.

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