The congressman from the 13th District is Mac Thornberry, a Republican first elected in 1994. He is considered one of Congress’ brainiest and most thoughtful Republicans on national and domestic security issues. Read More

The congressman from the 13th District is Mac Thornberry, a Republican first elected in 1994. He is considered one of Congress’ brainiest and most thoughtful Republicans on national and domestic security issues.

His great-great-grandfather, Amos Thornberry, a Union Army veteran and staunch Republican, moved to Clay County, just east of Wichita Falls, in the 1880s. A year after Amos died in 1925, his son bought the cattle ranch that Mac Thornberry, his brothers and father now run. After college and law school in Texas, Thornberry worked for Texas Republican Reps. Tom Loeffler and Larry Combest. He returned to practice law in West Texas, and in 1994, challenged Democratic Rep. Bill Sarpalius, whom he attacked for voting for President Bill Clinton’s budget and tax legislation. He also profited from news stories that said Sarpalius failed to pay a company that moved him to Washington, and then accepted a fee for speaking at the company’s convention in Las Vegas. Thornberry won 55%-45%, and has rolled up large re-election margins ever since.

In the House, Thornberry has compiled a solidly conservative voting record, though he has a pragmatic streak and is hardly the most ideological Republican in the Texas delegation. In keeping with his scholarly nature, his official website includes an essay explaining his philosophy and explaining his interest “in continuing to push government to work smarter and more efficiently.”

Thornberry has often been at the forefront of security issues. In 2002, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, he played a key role in the establishment of the new Homeland Security Department. He took over in January 2011 as chairman of the Armed Services Committee’s terrorism panel, and Speaker John Boehner also asked him to lead an effort to develop a cyber security strategy for the country. Earlier, as a member of the Intelligence Committee, Thornberry criticized delays in integrating computer networks and intelligence analyses at the Homeland Security Department. He also has championed missile defense and called for better coordination of military space programs.

Thornberry was critical of President Barack Obama’s arms control deal with Russia in 2010 for precluding the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear nations. But he can be more pragmatic than other defense hawks. He served on a bipartisan commission in 2007 that drew up recommendations for winning the war in Iraq with both lethal and non-lethal approaches, such as diplomacy and foreign aid. Despite his expertise on security matters, he lost his bid in 2009 to chair the full Armed Services Committee to Buck McKeon, R-Calif., who had more seniority.

On domestic issues, Thornberry has pressed for repeal of the estate tax and also tax credits to encourage production of oil in marginal wells. In 2010, he got a bill into law expanding access to state veterans’ homes to parents whose children died while serving in the military. He introduced a bill in January 2011 to help states set up special health care courts staffed by judges with expertise in the subject. The judges would serve as an alternative to juries that Republicans say are inclined to award unnecessarily large damage amounts in malpractice cases.