susan: our guest this morning on "newsmakers" is mac thornberry of texas. this week, as committee chairman, he presided over the review of the 2016 different budget, $612 billion including $9 million on war funding in an 18 hour marathon session. thank you for being with us this week. have you heard wendy bill will go to the floor? rep. thornberry: i think it will be the weekend. susan: are you expecting these kinds of margins? rep. thornberry: i am hopeful. generally, it comes out with widespread bipartisan support. susan: let me introduce our two reporters who will be asking questions today. megan is of "roll call," and kevin baron is the executive editor of "defense one." kevin, we will start with you. kevin: thank you. i thought we would start big and had small. for me, the main focus is where we are fighting, the middle east. you are now the chair of the armed services committee. your committee has oversight of the military and the wars. do you think that the rest of congress, the leadership adequately focus is on the middle east and the press coming o

later sunday, it is newsmakers with texas republican mac thornberry.authorization for the use of military force against isis. here is a preview. representative thornberry: the question is, can there be support for another authorization to use military force against isis? i think we need to try. it is our job under the constitution. in addition to that, i think we have a bold obligation to the men and women we sent out on these dangerous missions to have the full cloak of constitutional authority and moral backing of the country in supporting their mission. i think we have a responsibility to try. i had some conversations today about next steps moving forward. i want to try and contribute to that debate. even though it doesn't technically come out of our committee. >> what are those next steps? mac thornberry: to me, there is an authorization to use military force that would work in the field, that could get the support of republicans and democrats enough to pass in the house and senate. there are a couple that have been introduced. i think there may be

on "newsmakers" representative mac thornberry talks about the 2016 defense budget that was approved by the committee this week, as well as other defense issues, including new authorization for the use of military force against isis. representative thornberry: there isn't much support for what the president asked for. can there be support for another version of an authorization to use military force against isis? i think we need to try. i think we have a moral obligation to the men and women we send out on these dangerous missions to have the full cloak of constitutional authority and moral backing of the country in supporting their missions. i think we have a responsibility to try. i had some conversations today about baby steps going forward. i want to try contributing to that debate. >> what are those next steps? representative thornberry: to see if there is a version of authorization to use military force that did work in the field that could get the support of both parties of to pass in the house and senate. there are a couple that have been introduced. i think there may be more di

our guess is mac thornberry. he talks about a number of different topics including the use of military force against isis. on monday, live coverage from vint. cerf. announcer: she embraced the role of first lady. hosting parties for politicians to help her husband's political agenda. in 1812, when british troops invaded the capital, she is credited for saving a portrait of george washington and other valuables from the white house. dolly madison, sunday night, on c-span. examining the public and private lives of the women who filled the position of first lady and her influence on the presidency, from martha washington to michelle obama. as a compliment to the series, c-span's new book is available, "first ladies." providing lively stories of these fascinating women creating an illuminating, entertaining, and inspiring read. it is available as a hardcover or e-book for your favorite bookstore or online seller. announcer: now, a discussion on lessons learned from the protests and riots in baltimore. this runs over

newsmakers our guest is taxes republican mac thornberry.out a number of topics including authorization for the use of military force against isis. here's a preview. >> is not much support for what the president asked for. the next question is can there be support for another version of the and authorization to use military force against isis? -- version of another authorization? in addition, i think we have a moral obligation to the men and women we send out to have the full cloak of constitutional authority and moral backing of the country and supporting their missions. i think we have a responsibility to try. i had some conversations today about maybe next apps going forward and i want to try to contribute to that debate even though it does not technically come out of our committee. >> what are the next ups coming forward? >> to see if there is a version of the authorization of military force that could get the support of republicans and democrats enough to pass in the house and senate. there are a couple that have been introduced and the

mac thornberry. >>> with us now, chairman of the house armed services committee, mac thornberry.correspondent from politico, mike allen. mr. chairman, thank you so much for being with us. let's talk about the defense bill. there have been a lot of concerns about the caps put on the defense bill because of spending limits. is that a concern to you or do you side step hose spending caps? >> well, the caps are a concern but we found a way to add to the overseas contingency account so that we in the house budget and the defense bill on the floor right now meet exactly the amount that the president last asked for. it's $611.9 billion. and we meet it exactly. so there are differences in how some of those funds get categorized, but the total, there is no difference. and so to have members of the president's party say they will vote against it even though we match exactly what the president asked for is a little disheartening. >> $611 billion pentagon budget. i know a lot's changed since i was there and working along side you and the armed services committee, but that's double what we us

. >> you can watch the entire interview with representative mac thornberry tomorrow at 10:00 and 6:00

. >>> joining us now is the chairman of the house armed services committee, mac thornberry. we maerd an alarming report there. this is isis online saying that by next year they believe they'll have the means to purchase a nuclear weapon from pakistan, any everyday that could happen? >> no evidence that it has happened. would they do it if they had the opportunity, of course. what do we do about it? number one, we don't wait until they get it before we take action. a that seriously degrades isis. secondly, we keep pushing at their finances to lower the amount of money they have. but the other thing we've got to do is improve our intelligence capability. we, i think, know less today than we knew five or six years ago about what terrorists around the world are doing for a variety of reasons. but the key way to know what they're doing, to prevent them from getting a nuclear, chemical, biological weapon, is to augment our intelligence capability and then, you've got to act. you can't draw red lines that you don't follow up on. >> okay, i want to ask you one key aspect of that, be

susan: our guest this morning on "newsmakers" is mac thornberry of texas.s week, as committee chairman, he presided over the review of the 2016 different budget, $612 billion including $9 million on war funding in an 18 hour marathon session. thank you for being with us this week. have you heard wendy bill will go to the floor? rep. thornberry: i think i

. >> you can watch the entire interview with representative mac thornberry tomorrow at 10:00 and 6:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. them a the new congressional directory is a handy guide to the 114 congress with color photos of every house and senate e member plus bios and twitter handles. also, a look at congressional committees, the presidential cabinet. order yours today. it is $13.95 through the c-span store. next, a discussion on the state of black men in the u.s.. among these speakers is the head of the president "my brother's keeper" initiative also, professors from john hopkins and harvard. this was hosted by the american enterprise institute. it is an hour and a half. robert: good afternoon, and welcome to the american enterprise institute. i am the morgan fellow here at e aei. i am happy to welcome you to our discussion, on the role of economics and policy. the cultural matrix understanding black youth, doing the best i can fatherhood in the , inner city. helping black men thrive. my brother keeper, these are the works of our very distinguished panel. each of our guests has

>> what do you say, i assume you support the chairman of the house armed services committee, mac thornberry's government in baghdad and give weapons directly to the kurds in northern iraq. the administration is opposing you on that. where does it stand? >> i and elliott engel wrote original legislation to do that. the concept here of course, the kurds are doing most of the fighting along the 600-mile border. most importantly, many minorities yazidis, christians other minorities are behind the kurdish lines being protected by the kurds. but because of the influence of iran baghdad right now won't give them the heavy equipment they need. neither the mortars, nor the artillery, nor the anti-tank weapons to match isis on the ground. of course we have to find a way to get this into their hands, they've repeatedly been up on the hill the foreign minister from the kurdish portion of the country has asked me repeatedly please do what you can. so i support this legislation and when it goes through, i hope the administration will reconsider. because so far, the iranians and their allies have been able

. >> on this weekend's news makers, mac thornberry is our guest.e talks about the defense budget the committee recently approved as well as other issues facing the military. >> sunday night on c-span's q & a. walter pincus on the situation in the middle east and his opinion on the 2003 invasion of iraq. >> i think one of the things about the bushed a r administration and paul was never an expert on the middle east and iraq, has proved it. history has proved it. is that we look at things from our own point of view and get deceived by it and you can go back to vietnam as a great example of the first time we sort of did it openly but we have a history of it. trying to think other people are like us, who want our standards and the world is different. particularly in the middle east it is a totally different culture. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's q & a. >> nato supreme allied commander general philip breedlove discussed the russian ukraine conflict and fighters flying in and out of europe. this is 45 minutes. general breedlove.

representative mac thornberry, a republican from texas chairs the committee with adam smith, the washington democrat. this is a 2.5 hour portion. >> absolutely. >> without objection the amendment is considered as read. the lady is recognized. >> thank you. we go back to this issue of the fact that the secretary panetta before he left and the joint chiefs all unanimously get -- got together and said women should have a chance to be in combat roles we have been working on this for last few years trying to figure out how we measure what is needed in combat roles. and then we have had women volunteer, infantry training , training sessions to take a look and see how they would fare. we are going through the process, looking at the gender-neutral standard to try to figure out which ones work and are working toward this january 2016 period, where i would hope, maybe it won't happen, but i would hope all units would be open to women. that will be determined through the standards and the tests that we are putting some of these women through. so what happened a few years ago was a new section was put

here is chairman max on worry -- mac thornberry of texas in this weekly republican address.video clip] >> the world today is full of tor turmoil. isis poses a great and direct threat to our security and our way of life. no one knows how to solve the problems of the world, but one thing we do know for sure -- the world is a safer, better place when the united states is militarily strong. a week in america invites greater danger. the constitution and dow's congress with specific responsibilities to help provide for the common defense. for 53 straight years, congress is a both parties have passed and presence of both parties have signed into law a defense authorization act which helps to build the military strength that we need. the house passed this year's bill last week. it gives the fighters a raise and make sure that we get the best benefit for the taxpayers dollars. the senate will review its bill next week. the president has threatened to veto the defense bill. look, we will always have are differences, but it is wrong for anyone to play politics with defense. the world i

but first, our guest is armed service committee member, representative mac thornberry.video clip] rep. thornberry: there is not much support for what the president asked for so the question is if there can be support for another version. i think we need to try. it is our job under the constitution. in addition, we have a moral obligation to the men and women who we send out on these missions to have the full cloak of a digital authority and moral -- constitutional authority and moral backing of the country for their mission. i think have the responsibility to try. i had some conversations today about maybe some next steps going forward and i want to contribute to that debate, even though it doesn't technically, out of our committee. , what are the next up s steps? rep. thornberry: to see if there is an authorization that could get enough support to pass in the house and senate. there are a couple that have been introduced. i think there may be more discussions about that. i cannot tell you all the steps in the legislative process. it is my opinion that we need to really

announcer: the weekly addresses for this memorial day weekend from president obama and mac thornberry. president obama: hi everybody. this week and is memorial day, a time to pay tribute to our men and women in uniform who have ever given their lives so that we can live in freedom and security. this year, the holiday is especially meaningful. it is the first memorial day since our poor and it in afghanistan. on monday, at arlington, i will join our families, veterans, and loved ones, to remember all of our fallen heroes, including the more than 2200 american patriots who gave their lives and afghanistan. i plan to share a few stories. growing up in arizona, white martin loved the outdoors -- why wyatt martin loved the outdoors and later enlisted in the army to give back to his country. raymond morris was born in jamaica. as a teenager, he came to queens. like so many immigrants, he felt the call to serve his country and joined the army. he fell in love, got engaged and a thing he wanted most was to make the world safer for his daughter. they traveled different paths or it in december,

thornberry: hello, i am mac thornberry. in my job, i get to spend a lot of time around the men and women who serve our nation. i'm continually in all of their character, their courage, and their dedication to our country. since the beginning, the u.s. has been blessed with outstanding individuals who cared about something bigger than themselves and have fought, and some even died, four american security and freedom. this memorial day, we continue to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. the greatest generation took on one of the greatest evils the world has ever known, defeated it, and came home to build a nation. their achievement came at a heavy price. on memorial day, all of us should take time to remember and to honor those who sacrificed their lives at answering the call of our country. i think we ought to do more than honor the fallen. we have a duty to honor what they fought for. so that in the words of lincoln at gettysburg, we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. the worl