By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Lawmakers from New Jersey and other high-tax states formed a new bipartisan congressional caucus Thursday to push for repeal of the $10,000 limit on deducting state and local income and property taxes, something that has hurt many Garden State residents. 'Reps. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., Bill Pascrell Jr. D-9th Dist., and Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist., were among the vice chairs. New Jersey’s other House Republican, 2nd District Rep. Jeff Van Dr... Read more

At a human rights hearing on Capitol Hill today, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) warned against infringements on freedoms of expression in South Korea and urged the U.S. ally to prioritize a vision of universally-binding human rights at this critical and historical inflection point for the peninsula and the world. “This hearing comes at a critical time when the Biden Administration is faced with a number of policy choices that impact the peninsula,” said Smith, who chaired the Tom Lantos Human Rights C... Read more

The following are excerpts of the opening remarks of U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, at a congressional hearing entitled "Civil and Political Rights in the Republic of Korea: implications for Human Rights on the Peninsula," held on Thursday, April 15, 2021: I’d like to begin by thanking all our witnesses for joining us today as we explore the state of civil and political rights as they exist in our close friend and ally, the Republic of Korea, an... Read more

Madam Speaker, today the House of Representatives will vote to reauthorize the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act—a law I authored in 2005. This was an original idea of mine 20 years ago. Joined by 70 cosponsors, I introduced it in 2001. After five long years of hard work and numerous setbacks, my bill was finally enacted into law in 2005. The new law created a nationwide umbilical cord blood stem cell program, designed to collect, derive, type, and freeze cord blood units for transplantati... Read more

Hackensack Meridian Health Systems (HMHS) received an $82 million federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the cost of many of the hospital’s extensive emergency measures taken as a result of the COVID pandemic, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today. HMHS operates Hackensack Meridian Health Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Hackensack Meridian Je... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) will co-chair a hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission entitled "Civil and Political Rights in the Republic of Korea: Implications for Human Rights on the Peninsula," on Thursday, April 15, at 10:00 a.m. The Commission will hear witnesses on the topic of freedom of expression on the Korean peninsula to examine the role of the right to freedom of expression and the exercise of other rights in the broader context of inter-Korean, U.S.-South Korea relations, and U... Read more

CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, NJ has been awarded a $5.5 million federal grant by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay for the hospital’s extensive emergency measures taken during the COVID pandemic, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today. “I worked with the tireless staff at CentraState at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and learned firsthand how hard they cared for the sick even while putting themselves at risk,” said Rep. Smith who has assisted CentraState in obtaini... Read more

By Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman - Alabama warehouse employees for Amazon. com Inc. aren’t the only workers across America holding elections to potentially form a union. Breaion Grissom, a Hamilton Township resident, said the Lawrence-based Shred-it facility off Whitehead Road has illegally terminated his employment for attempting to organize such an election here. “The day we announced that we had filed for a union election, I was unjustly terminated,” Grissom said last week in a press statement. “Mana... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said: “Our prayers go out to the family, friends and colleagues of Officer William 'Billy' Evans who was killed in the line of duty on Capitol Hill today. The attack at the north barricade—which also injured another officer—is yet another act of brutal, senseless violence and underscores the extraordinary courage and valor of the men and women who serve and protect.” ### Read more

By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Rep. Chris Smith spent last week sparring with the state Labor Department over a backlog of unemployment claims. Now he says he hopes the agency’s new procedures will pave he way for thousands of New Jersey residents to get their checks. “With more than 700 unresolved claims from my district alone and thousands across the state, they need to have a more aggressive, responsive system that delivers the full benefits people are entitled to,” said... Read more