The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO MAC THORNBERRY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S7581 on Dec. 17, 2020.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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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