Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. On September 30, 2019 it was announced that Thornberry would not seek reelection in 2020. Tenure and political positions According to the National Journal Congressional Almanac, "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.'" From January 1995 to July 2017, Thornberry missed 140 of 15,276 roll call votes, or 0.9%, fewer than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. Foreign policy Thornberry was critical of President Obama's 2010 arms control deal with Russia for precluding the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear nations. But he has been 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. Taxation On domestic issues, Thornberry has pressed for repeal of the estate tax and for tax credits to encourage production of oil in marginal wells. Other In 2010 Thornberry sponsored a bill to expand access to state veterans' homes to parents whose children died while serving in the military. That bill became law. In January 2011 he introduced a bill 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. Term limits Thornberry has consistently voted for term limits for U.S. Representatives, but does not intend to term-limit himself until a constitutional amendment is passed that imposes term limits on all members of Congress. Agriculture and farm bill Thornberry has pressed the house to pass a farm bill every five years in order to give farmers and ranchers more stability. In 2013 he voted for the five-year Farm Bill, which included annual cuts of $2 billion from food stamps, which would have been the largest change to food policy since 1996. The House did not pass the bill. Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 In 2012 Thornberry introduced the Smith-Mundt Modernation Act of 2012 to amend the 1948