Smith, Chris RSS Articles

National Fisherman article on Smith's CECC hearing'Congressional hearing targets China's IUU fishing, impacts on US fleet'

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Carli Stewart
Published April 17, 2026

A congressional hearing led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, is putting renewed focus on China’s illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices– and the ripple effects those practices are having on U.S. fishermen.

Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, framed the issue as both an economic and national security concern.

“From the earliest days of seafaring, the oceans have been governed not only by currents and commerce, but by rules—rules that distinguish lawful navigation from piracy, fair trade from exploitation, and order from lawlessness,” said Smith during his opening remarks.

Representative Chris Smith, R-NJ, is putting renewed focus on China’s illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices. Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard

“Today, we are confronted with a disturbing modern version of that lawlessness: a system of dark fleets, opaque supply chains, illegal fishing, and coerced labor that threatens not only American workers, but also human rights, the rule of law, and our national security.”

The hearing builds on earlier investigations into China’s distant-water fleet, where witnesses have tied season production to forced labor and illegal incursions into other nations’ waters. That product, officials say, continues to move through global supply chains and into U.S. markets, undercutting domestic fleets.

“Let’s be clear: repression in these regions is one of China’s hidden costs. It is the externality that helps produce cheap seafood. It is part of China’s competitive advantage and helps explain the trade surplus in this commodity,” he continued.

Witnesses also pointed to broader risks. “Under my tenure in the U.S. Coast Guard, we declared IUU Fishing to be the world’s top maritime security challenge—surpassing piracy,” testified Scott Clendenin of the U.S. Coast Guard. “This issue goes beyond economic unfairness to our domestic industry – it is a direct subsidy to criminal networks.”

Lawmakers and panelists emphasized that while existing laws could address the issue, stronger enforcement will be key to protecting U.S. fisheries and leveling the playing field for American fishermen.

This article was published on April 17, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.nationalfisherman.com/congressional-hearing-targets-chinas-iuu-fishing-impacts-on-us-fleet

Opening statement of Co-Chairman Smith at CECC hearingDark Nets, Illicit Labor—Confronting China’s IUU Fishing and Seafood Supply Chain

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

The following are excerpts of Co-Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ)’s opening statement at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)’s April 16^th hearing, entitled “Dark Nets, Illicit Labor—Confronting China’s IUU Fishing and Seafood Supply Chain”:

I want to recognize and thank Co-Chair Sullivan for his leadership on this issue and his long record of fighting to protect the American seafood industry and American fishermen.

In fact, on March 24, 2026, the Senate unanimously passed Co-Chair Sullivan’s FISH Act—his comprehensive legislation to combat foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Sullivan FISH Act will blacklist offenders from U.S. ports; bolster the U.S. Coast Guard’s enforcement capabilities; and advance international and bilateral negotiations to achieve enforceable agreements. I am working with like-minded members of the House and our leadership to help ensure that Senator Sullivan’s outstanding bill soon becomes law.

It is also important to note that last year’s NDAA included a sweeping Sullivan amendment to prohibited Pentagon commissaries from serving Chinese seafood to our men and women in uniform. This is an important and giant step forward—exactly the kind of serious leadership required to address the challenge of Chinese IUU fishing.

From the earliest days of seafaring, the oceans have been governed not only by currents and commerce, but by rules—rules that distinguish lawful navigation from piracy, fair trade from exploitation, and order from lawlessness.

Today, we are confronted with a disturbing modern version of that lawlessness: a system of dark fleets, opaque supply chains, illegal fishing, and coerced labor that threatens not only American workers, but also human rights, the rule of law, and our national security.

Credible reporting and investigative findings have exposed deeply troubling practices within China’s distant-water fishing fleet and seafood processing industry. These include widespread illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing—known as IUU fishing—as well as serious human rights abuses, including forced labor.

As our Commission heard in 2023 during the hearing I chaired, “From Bait to Plate: How Forced Labor in China Taints America’s Seafood Supply Chain,” a significant portion of China’s distant-water fleet has been linked to labor exploitation, illegal incursions into the sovereign waters of other nations, and exploitation of workers.

These abuses do not end at sea.

On land, there are grave concerns about the use of forced labor—including Uyghur and North Korean labor—in seafood processing facilities tied to global supply chains. Products processed under these conditions can make their way into international markets, including the United States, raising urgent legal, moral, and national security concerns.

We are joined again today by Mr. Ian Urbina, founder of the Outlaw Ocean Project, whose reporting has helped expose these abuses to the world. His work, and the work of others, has made one thing unmistakably clear: this is not a series of isolated incidents. It is a pattern. And it demands a response equal to its scale and seriousness.

Ian’s testimony at our 2023 hearing told of North Korean laborers in Chinese seafood processing facilities whose products entered the U.S. market.

We have also recently learned that North Koreans are being employed on Chinese-flagged tuna longliners, with evidence of forced labor that included debt bondage, physical and verbal abuse, and excessive overtime.

That is not just a labor abuse. It is a sanctions evasion issue, a human rights issue, and a national security issue.

With Senator Merkley and Senator Sullivan, I have called on the Departments of State and Homeland Security to coordinate and act swiftly to address forced labor in China’s seafood industry. We raised a particularly alarming possibility: that seafood consumed in the United States could be indirectly funding North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Our message was simple. The United States must not allow its consumers, its taxpayers, or its government procurement systems to become unwitting participants in forced labor or sanctions evasion.

That means stronger enforcement to stop tainted seafood at the border, and it means ensuring that no federal procurement system—including military bases, school meal programs, or other government facilities—relies on products linked to forced labor.

Because let us be clear: China’s illegal fishing practices and the use of forced labor in its seafood supply chain are not merely unethical—they are in clear violation of U.S. law, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (which I lead with Senator Rubio and Merkley and McGovern) and the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

We know the administration has said that addressing IUU fishing is a priority. We know Customs and Border Protection has issued withhold release orders on Chinese vessels and barred products from at least one Chinese seafood processor.

We know CBP has the authority to act. What we need to know now is whether that authority is being used with the urgency and rigor this crisis demands.

After our 2023 hearing, Chinese seafood was added to CBP’s priority enforcement list. Companies and retailers took notice—Lotte stores in South Korea and McDonalds promised to stop importing Chinese seafood.

We hope today’s hearing produces that same kind of impact—but more importantly, we hope it leads to sustained action.

This hearing is about protecting American jobs and protecting national security as well. China’s distant-water fishing fleet does not operate in a vacuum. These vessels often advance the Chinese Communist Party’s objectives: asserting maritime claims, projecting presence in disputed waters, distorting markets, and exploiting vulnerable workers in service of larger geopolitical ambitions.

So, this is about more than seafood. It is about whether the United States will tolerate a system that rewards coercion, harms American fisherman, weakens sanctions enforcement, creates food insecurity in Africa, and erodes the integrity of global commerce.

That is why we are here today. And that is why this hearing matters.

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Defending New Jersey and U.S. seafood/fishing industriesSmith co-chairs hearing on China’s illegal fishing practices

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), today co-led a congressional hearing on China’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, which distort seafood markets, harm American fishermen, undermine law and order, enable human rights abuses, and threaten national security.

“China’s cruel and unethical fishing practices not only harm their laborers, who are tortured, beaten, and exploited during the cultivation and processing processes—they also harm U.S. economic interests by taking away jobs, paychecks, and resources from American and New Jersey commercial fisheries,” continued the China policy expert and senior lawmaker.

Smith is a strong supporter of the FISH Act, legislation to combat foreign IUU fishing. Authored by CECC Chair Senator Dan Sullivan, this legislation will blacklist offenders from U.S. ports; bolster the U.S. Coast Guard’s enforcement capabilities; and advance international and bilateral negotiations to achieve enforceable agreements. Smith has been working with like-minded House members and the House leadership to help ensure that this much-needed reform bill soon becomes law.

In 2023, Smith chaired his first congressional hearing in a series on China’s IUU fishing practices, entitled “From Bait to Plate: How Forced Labor in China Taints America’s Seafood Supply Chain,” where witnesses revealed how China’s distant-water fleets are marred by labor exploitation and illegal trespasses into the sovereign waters of other countries.

The seafood illegally caught on these fleets is then packaged and processed by predominantly Uyghur and North Korean laborers, the vast majority of whom are forced to work under grueling, inhumane, slave-like conditions.

This forced labor-tainted seafood makes its way into global supply chains, ending up in countries around the world—including the United States, making it difficult and patently unfair for U.S. and New Jersey fishermen to compete and earn their honest wage.

In 2018 alone, the seafood cultivated by NJ commercial fishermen was valued at over $170 million. In fact, Point Pleasant’s fisheries (in NJ-04) were ranked 35^th in nationwide value by the NOAA, as they generated more than $32 million in revenue that same year.

Ian Urbina, the Director and Founder of the Outlaw Ocean Project, who testified at Smith’s 2023 hearing about the prevalence of forced labor on China’s fishing fleets and in their seafood processing facilities, spoke today about how China’s IUU fishing practices have only worsened and are in blatant violation of the United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (PL 117-78), legislation co-sponsored by Smith.

“Our investigation mapped the supply chains of more than 1,200 fish farms in Xinjiang and Tibet. We found seafood from these farms going to a dozen countries, including the United States, and to companies supplying public institutions such as military bases, public schools, and congressional cafeterias,” stated Urbina.

The other witnesses, RADM Scott Clendenin (Ret.) and Hon. Dean Pinkert, Former Commissioner and Vice Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission—underscored the grave national security risks associated with China’s IUU fishing, as well as the legislative and economic tools Congress can use to cut forced labor-tainted seafood out of the global supply chain and protect America’s fishing and seafood industries.

“Under my tenure in the U.S. Coast Guard, we declared IUU Fishing to be the world's top maritime security challenge—surpassing piracy,” testified RADM Clendenin (Ret.). “This issue goes beyond economic unfairness to our domestic industry - it is a direct subsidy to criminal networks.”

RADM Clendenin described how China’s “IUU Fishing is a driver of conflict and deeply intertwined with the most dangerous transnational threats America faces,” such as drug and migrant smuggling.

“Congress has assembled a flexible toolkit of legislation that can be used to address this problem—Section 307 of the Tariff Act, the UFLPA, Section 1595a civil penalties, and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974,” stated Hon. Pinkert. “The issue is not an absence of statutory authority; it is the failure to use these tools at scale, in combination, and with the creativity the circumstances demand.”

Towards the end of his opening statement, Smith reiterated the necessity of the United States holding China to account for the human rights abuses and unethical practices it perpetrates on its fishing fleets and in its seafood processing facilities.

“This hearing is about protecting American jobs and protecting national security as well. China’s distant-water fishing fleet does not operate in a vacuum. These vessels often advance the Chinese Communist Party’s objectives: asserting maritime claims, projecting presence in disputed waters, distorting markets, and exploiting vulnerable workers in service of larger geopolitical ambition.

“So, this is about more than seafood. It is about whether the United States will tolerate a system that rewards coercion, harms American fisherman, weakens sanctions enforcement, creates food insecurity in Africa, and erodes the integrity of global commerce.”

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El Salvador in English article on recent TLHRC hearing'Rep. Chris Smith Questions Why El Faro and Cristosal Prioritize Gang Rights Over Terrorist Accountability'

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By El Salvador News
Published April 16, 2026

During a tense congressional hearing on human rights, Representative Chris Smith confronted witnesses from El Faro and Cristosal over their refusal to label MS-13 as a terrorist organization. Smith noted that the U.S. has officially designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization to better interdict their funding and violent operations.

When asked directly if they agreed with this designation, journalist Sergio Arauz and director Noah Bullock declined to answer. This evasion prompted a sharp critique from Smith, who questioned why prominent critics of the Salvadoran government remain reluctant to categorize the criminal group as a terrorist entity despite its history of atrocities.

Prioritizing the rights of perpetrators over the accountability required for a terrorist group ignores the gravity of the crimes committed against Salvadoran families. The exchange underscored a deep divide between lawmakers seeking to validate El Salvador’s security successes and NGOs that prioritize the safeguard of gang affiliates. That refusing to label MS-13 correctly undermines the international efforts necessary to dismantle these networks and ensure long-term peace for victims.

This article was published on April 16, 2026 and can be found online at: https://elsalvadorinenglish.com/2026/04/16/rep-chris-smith-questions-why-el-faro-and-cristosal-prioritize-gang-rights-over-terrorist-accountability/

El Salvador in English article on recent TLHRC hearing'The Silence of the Past: Rep. Chris Smith Blasts Democrats for Ignoring El Salvador's History of Violence'

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By El Salvador News
Published April 16, 2026

U.S. Representative Chris Smith has issued a definitive defense of El Salvador’s current security transformation, asserting that the country’s progress can only be measured by looking back at its decades of bloodshed. Smith, a veteran advocate for global human rights, noted that any honest assessment of the nation must begin with the undeniable fact that daily life has been fundamentally altered for the better.

The congressman drew from his extensive history with the region, recalling his early human rights missions when the population was caught between the terrorism of the FMLN and the violence of death squads. This cycle of brutality eventually morphed into the pervasive control of gangs, which Smith witnessed firsthand even within his own U.S. congressional district through cases of human trafficking and extortion linked to Central American criminal networks.

Smith highlighted the statistical magnitude of the current shift, noting that El Salvador has transitioned from having the highest homicide rate in the world in 2015 to becoming one of the safest communities today. With a stunning 98% reduction in homicides over the last decade, he argued that the ability of ordinary citizens to go about their lives without fear was previously unimaginable under the old status quo.

The legislative architect of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act also emphasized that the administration’s focus on dismantling gangs has directly improved human rights by reducing sexual assault and modern-day slavery. For Smith, these advancements are not just numbers on a page but tangible changes that have liberated communities from a state of constant terror.

Ultimately, Smith maintained that the overwhelming domestic support for President Nayib Bukele serves as the ultimate validation of these policies. He concluded that the extraordinary margins of victory in recent elections and consistently high approval ratings reflect the firsthand judgment of a population that has finally experienced the benefits of restored public order after generations of chaos.

This article was published on April 16, 2026 and can be found online at: https://elsalvadorinenglish.com/2026/04/16/the-silence-of-the-past-rep-chris-smith-blasts-democrats-for-ignoring-el-salvadors-history-of-violence/

Protecting NJ fisheries’ interestsThurs., April 16: Rep. Chris Smith to co-chair CECC hearing, “Dark Nets, Illicit Labor—Confronting China’s IUU Fishing and Seafood Supply Chain”

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

On Thursday, April 16^th, the co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK)—will delve into the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s subsidized and aggressive use of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.

“Dark Nets, Illicit Labor—Confronting China’s IUU Fishing and Seafood Supply Chain,” which will mark the CECC’s second hearing on the PRC’s unethical fishing practices in under three years, will further expose how China’s actions threaten global maritime security, distort seafood markets, harm U.S. economic interests, and enable serious human rights abuses in the seafood supply chain.

WHAT: Congressional hearing on the economic, human rights, and strategic implications of the Chinese Communist Party's role in IUU fishing and illicit labor in the seafood sector, including the use of Uyghur and North Korean forced labor in processing facilities and on distant-water fishing vessels.

WHEN: Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 10:00 AM

WITNESSES: (Partial list)

Ian Urbina, Director and Founder, The Outlaw Ocean Project
Rear Admiral Scott Clendenin, USCG (Ret.), Owner, Dog Zebra Solutions, LLC
Hon Dean A. Pinkert, Former Commissioner and Vice Chairman of U.S. International Trade Commission; Special Advisor, Corporate Accountability Lab

WHERE: 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building and livestreamed on the CECC’s YouTube channel

WHO: Chair Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Co-Chair Chris Smith (R-NJ), other CECC Commissioners, and witnesses

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The Catholic Herald article on Smith's work to combat forced organ harvesting'Vatican urged to confront China's forced organ harvesting record'

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By The Catholic Herald
Published April 12, 2026 at 11:40 AM

A senior US congressman and a prominent human rights advocate have renewed criticism of the Vatican for hosting one of China’s top transplant officials at a 2017 conference on organ trafficking, arguing that the Holy See should now take a clearer public stand against Beijing’s alleged forced organ harvesting. The criticism came at a Hudson Institute event in Washington on 9 April focused on new evidence concerning organ harvesting in China.

Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican congressman from New Jersey, said the Vatican had erred in giving a platform to Huang Jiefu, a leading Chinese transplant official, at the 2017 Summit on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism organised by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Smith said that if the Vatican invites people involved in grave wrongdoing, it risks legitimising them by association.

The immediate context for the renewed criticism was a panel hosted by the Hudson Institute highlighting what participants described as fresh evidence of forced organ harvesting in China, particularly targeting Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim communities. One of the speakers, author Ethan Gutmann, discussed material from his new book, The Xinjiang Procedure, and described testimony gathered from former detainees in Chinese camps.

The Vatican conference in 2017 had aimed to unite experts against organ trafficking and transplant tourism. Participants signed a joint statement and proposed 11 measures for implementation by healthcare and law-enforcement professionals. Even at the time, however, China’s involvement was controversial. Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting said then that there was no evidence forced organ harvesting in China had ended, and warned that inviting Huang could compromise the meeting’s credibility.

Nina Shea, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a long-time advocate on religious-liberty and human-rights issues, echoed Smith’s criticism. She told EWTN that the Vatican’s first responsibility should be to “do no harm” and argued that by hosting Huang it helped open doors for him internationally, including with the World Health Organization. Shea alleged that the Vatican’s support helped lend credibility to a Chinese official she described as the public face of the country’s transplant sector.

Shea also urged Pope Leo XIV to speak directly against forced organ harvesting, calling it a major human-rights issue that has not been sufficiently confronted on the world stage. In her view, the Pope possesses both the platform and the moral authority to raise the issue more forcefully.

Smith linked the moral criticism to current legislative efforts in Washington. He said the practice of forced organ harvesting should be criminalised more seriously at international level and expressed regret that earlier US legislation had stalled in the Senate. He is now backing the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025, which would require presidential sanctions on individuals and entities involved in the practice and would authorise the State Department to revoke passports from those found complicit. Smith said such measures could have a chilling effect on organ brokers.

The latest intervention does not establish new Vatican policy, nor does it include a fresh response from the Holy See to the criticisms. But it does reopen a sensitive question about how the Vatican should engage with officials from states accused of grave abuses: whether dialogue helps expose wrongdoing or risks conferring legitimacy on those accused of it. In this case, Smith and Shea have made clear that they believe the Holy See should now adopt a firmer and more public line.

This article was published on April 11, 2026 and can be found online at: https://thecatholicherald.com/article/vatican-urged-to-confront-chinas-forced-organ-harvesting-record

The Daily Signal article on Smith's work to combat forced organ harvesting'Heritage Panel: CCP is Murdering Citizens for Organs and Profiting by the Billions'

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Jenna Lee
Published April 12, 2026

At The Heritage Foundation, policy experts recently exposed how China is murdering innocents for organ harvesting.

The April 7 event, titled “Organ Harvesting: Communist China’s Hideous Shop of Horrors,” featured Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., a panel of senior research fellows, and Jan Jekielek, senior editor of The Epoch Times and the host of “American Thought Leaders.”

The speakers discussed reports of forced organ harvesting in China and the implications for human rights. Among the horrors discussed is how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) profits from murdering healthy 28-year-old Uyghurs to sell their organs to the rich.

“It is industrial-sized, and tens of thousands of young people, average age 28, are having their fellow non-practitioners, Uyghurs, others of faith (targeted),” Rep. Smith said. “In two weeks, you can get a heart, you can get anything you possibly want.”

In China, a wealthy CCP member can order a heart, kidney, liver, or other organ needed to survive. The organs come from young adults who are executed against their will.

Ethan Gutmann, a China studies expert at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, explained that the target age is always 28 because that’s “when your organs have reached maturity and yet you haven’t started to deteriorate.”

An estimated 25,000 to 50,000 Uyghurs are murdered annually for their organs, and organ harvesting has grown into a billion-dollar industry in recent years.

Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group in northwest China. The CCP keeps them in concentration camps to await interrogation–and eventually execution–for their organs.

Gutmann said he visited Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia bordering northwestern China, and interviewed Kazakh refugees who had witnessed victims of the organ harvest firsthand.

Refugees “didn’t accept that people were being harvested, but they did describe disappearances, always at age 28,” he said.

Gutmann described one case in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where a nomadic Kazakh woman slept with another woman to keep warm at night. Until the woman disappeared.

“It was terribly cold in these places, and she only noticed that the woman was gone because the bed had gone cold,” Gutmann said.

Unlike China, the United States has extensive requirements for organ donors.

The process, which is based on voluntary donors, involves a referral, being matched with an organ, and receiving the organ transplant. The process typically takes years, not weeks.

Last year, Smith introduced the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025 to combat organ harvesting. The legislation includes policies to promote voluntary organ donation systems and to hold accountable anyone involved in forced organ harvesting.

The House of Representatives approved the bill in a 406-1 vote. The bill now awaits approval from the Senate.

This article was published on April 12, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/04/12/heritage-panel-ccp-is-murdering-citizens-for-organs-and-profiting-by-the-billions/amp/

Breitbart article on Smith-Harris letter to EU President'U.S. Congressmen Accuse EU Commission of Election Interference Against Hungary's Orbán'

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Kurt Zindulka
Published April 11, 2026

Republican lawmakers in the United States have accused the European Union of intervening to subvert Hungary’s democratic process, putting its thumb on the scale against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as he seeks re-election on Sunday.

New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith and Maryland Representative Andy Harris wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — who controls the unelected federal branch of the European Union — accusing Brussels of using its financial and other powers to pressure Hungarian voters into backing a more pro-EU government.

It comes as Prime Minister Orbán faces his toughest re-election campaign since coming to power 16 years ago, amid economic difficulties stemming in large part from the war in neighbouring Ukraine and from financial sanctions imposed by the EU on Hungary over so-called “rule of law” violations.

JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images

In total, the EU is currently withholding around €18 billion ($21.11bn) in funds from Hungary, including for domestic legislation restricting the promotion of LGBT content on children’s television and for barring lewd public demonstrations, such as gay Pride parades. Hungary is also facing the prospect of hefty fines for refusing to take in illegal migrants from other EU countries, which Budapest has argued is a punishment for having secured its borders while others failed or refused to.

Republican Representatives Smith and Harris said that the EU’s “persistence and timing of these measures—particularly during an electoral period—have reinforced perceptions that they are being applied in a politically selective manner.

“This perception is strengthened by the case of Poland, in which the EU put similar pressures against a conservative government – and then cynically dropped its pressures entirely as soon as a progressive government was in power in Poland, without that government having made the rule-of-law changes that the EU had previously demanded. The cumulative effect is to create the appearance that EU institutions seek to strongly shape the political environment of a member state during a democratic election,” they wrote.

Congressmen Smith and Harris also raised the issue of EU funding to media, activist organisations, and NGOs within Hungary, which they noted are “broadly understood within Hungary” to be acting in opposition to the Orbán government.

“During an electoral period, the effect of these funding patterns is not merely abstract; rather, they contribute in concrete ways to shaping the informational environment in which voters form their judgments. This has led to a widespread perception that EU institutions are active and partisan participants in Hungary’s domestic politics,” they said.

The Republican lawmakers also raised the issue of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) censorship apparatus, which demands that large social media companies police so-called disinformation and hate speech on their platforms. Smith and Harris said that officials and commentators in Hungary have claimed that the DSA has been used to stifle or censor viewpoints in favour of the Orbán government.

“The resulting dynamic raises grave concerns about indirect censorship, particularly where private platforms act under regulatory pressure to suppress or limit certain forms of political speech,” they wrote.

Taken together, the U.S. Congressmen said that the EU’s “actions constitute a pattern of direct and indirect intervention in Hungary’s internal political, media, and civil society environment during an active electoral period.”

“In assuming a role that is widely perceived within Hungary as aligned with particular political outcomes, the European Union risks undermining confidence in its institutional neutrality and its respect for the sovereign democratic processes of its member states.”

They called on the Commission to provide a full accounting of its funding of media and other organisations in Hungary, transparency on its sanction decision-making process, actions taken under the Digital Services Act, and to divulge what steps Brussels has taken to ensure political neutrality in EU member state elections.

The letter from the Congressmen comes days after U.S. Vice President JD Vance similarly accused Brussels of interfering in Hungary’s elections as he travelled to Budapest in a show of support for the longtime ally of President Donald Trump.

Vance said that the economic pressure imposed on the Hungarian public by the EU represented “one of the worst examples of foreign and election interference” he had ever seen.

“The bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary. They have tried to make Hungary less energy independent. They have tried to drive up costs for Hungarian consumers. And they’ve done it all because they hate this guy,” Vance said of Prime Minister Orbán.

In an apparent attempt to act as a counterweight to the EU, President Trump said on Friday evening that the U.S. is prepared to use its “economic might” to help strengthen the Hungarian economy if called upon. “We are excited to invest in the future Prosperity that will be generated by Orbán’s continued Leadership!” the President wrote on Truth Social.

On the campaign trail on Saturday, Prime Minister Orbán urged the “loud majority” to come out to the polls and prevent Hungary from being “dragged into war” with Russia in Ukraine. Doing so would risk Hungary’s relatively low energy costs, which result from deals negotiated by Budapest to secure access to Russian gas and oil.

“When we have to make difficult decisions, we need people who support us, and we have had such support in recent years. I am grateful that with their encouragement and support, they helped us through these years,” Orbán said at a campaign rally.

This article was published on April 11, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/04/11/u-s-congressmen-accuse-eu-commission-of-election-interference-against-hungarys-orban/

Jersey Shore Online article on Smith's district medal presentation'Delayed Purple Heart Awarded To Vietnam Veteran'

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Jason Allentoff
Published April 11, 2026

TOMS RIVER – Nearly six decades after being wounded in combat during the Vietnam War, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran has finally received long-overdue recognition for his service.

Cpl. Leo Perlmutter was injured during the Tet Offensive in January 1968, when North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched widespread attacks against U.S. and South Vietnamese troops. Amid incoming mortar fire, a blast struck near his position.

“I didn’t even know I was hit,” Perlmutter recalled. “A medic came to treat me. I was bleeding from the head from shrapnel.”

Though he qualified for multiple military honors, including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, the Purple Heart was never delivered—until now.

Cpl. Leo Perlmutter is presented with his Purple Heart medal during a ceremony at Rep. Smith’s Constituent Service Center. From left to right: Rep. Smith, SSGT Anthony Francisco, Cpl. Leo Perlmutter, Kathy Hoernlein, Peter Schneider, and Maj. Daniel Dennen. (Photo courtesy Congressman Chris Smith’s Office)

Recently, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., presented Perlmutter with the Purple Heart and Bronze Star during a ceremony at his constituent service center in Toms River. Smith, a former chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, was joined by representatives from Marine Air Group 49, based at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, along with Perlmutter’s family and friends.

“You took shrapnel, but thank God, you got through it. You survived,” Smith told the veteran during the ceremony.

Smith acknowledged the decades-long delay in awarding the medal but emphasized that the nation’s appreciation for Perlmutter’s service remains steadfast.

Cpl. Leo Perlmutter in Vietnam (Photo courtesy Perlmutter Family)

Perlmutter, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, is the son of Holocaust survivors who later immigrated to the United States. He volunteered to serve as a Marine as the Vietnam War intensified.

After returning home, he built a life in New York City and worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor. He has lived in Lakewood, New Jersey, for the past five years.

Efforts to secure the long-overdue medal began in March 2024, when Smith contacted the National Personnel Records Center to review Perlmutter’s case. Although the medals were eventually approved and shipped, they were initially lost in transit, prompting further inquiries before their eventual delivery.

During the ceremony, Perlmutter accepted the medals to applause and reflected on his time in service, expressing deep respect for his fellow Marines.

“We are so very grateful for what you did,” Smith said. “This recognition underscores the honor and respect you deserve for your sacrifice.”

This article was published on April 11, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/toms-river/delayed-purple-heart-awarded-to-vietnam-veteran-0c/