The international child abduction ordeal of Tinton Falls' David and Sean Goldman sparked a law to help bring such kids home. It's not being enforced. By Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press Twelve years after she helped bring abducted Tinton Falls child Sean Goldman home to his father David — a much-publicized saga that involved five years of legal wrangling with Brazil — Red Bank attorney Patricia Apy is still asked about the case all the time. The Goldmans are doing well, but as she testifie... Read more

Asbury Park Press USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY - Nineteen Jersey Shore towns and school districts devastated by superstorm Sandy nearly nine years ago have received some welcome news: They no longer have to pay back $26 million in federal disaster loans. 'The forgiveness of Community Disaster Loans provides critical relief for our towns' -- US Rep. Chris Smith. U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. and Andy Kim, both D-N.J., touted the disaster loan forgiveness at a Tuesday news conference at Toms Rive... Read more

Legislation supported by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to forgive federal Community Disaster Loans (CDL) for New Jersey towns devastated by Superstorm Sandy—including an estimated $8 million in loans for municipalities in Smith’s district in Monmouth and Ocean counties—passed the House of Representatives and was signed into law late last week as part of a stopgap measure to avoid a government shutdown. “The historic devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy required us to do everything to rebuild, inclu... Read more

Remarks by Chris Smith Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s Bradley Beach, NJ—October 3, 2021 Special thanks to Christine Hopkins who has and continues to serve so effectively as the Alzheimer’s Association ambassador throughout the years and for her leadership in today’s 2021 Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Twenty-three years ago, I along with Congressman Ed Markey created the Congressional Alzheimer's Caucus. Today, our bipartisan Caucus is 150 members strong. Together we fight to enhance... Read more

By ARIEL TU Oct 1st, 2021, 3:08 pm The parents of a South Carolina college student who was murdered by a fake Uber driver have turned their grief into a campaign to make it safer for anyone who calls an Uber or Lyft ride to get home. But they’re finding it difficult to get past the politics of Washington. “He spent a lot of time in search of a victim and he found somebody that was vulnerable and obviously confused on what car was her Uber ride and took advantage of that,” William H. “Skip” Holb... Read more

By Dennis Sadowski, CNS staff writer Two members of Congress have introduced a bill to expand successful trafficking prevention efforts in schools and businesses. Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Karen Bass (D-Calif.) introduced the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection and Reauthorization Act of 2021 in the House of Representatives Sept. 3. "During COVID ... the exploitation of children has risen substantially, mostly online, and there is kind of like a pent-up demand t... Read more

A New Jersey congressman and other advocates urged the State Department to use the strongest enforcement tools passed by Congress in 2014 for bringing home American children abducted by one parent living overseas — particularly in Japan. “Child abduction is child abuse,” Republican Rep. Chris Smith said during a hearing Wednesday of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. “These young victims, like their left-behind parents, are U.S. citizens who need the help of their government when normal leg... Read more

WASHINGTON – Joined by left-behind parents who have been separated from their children for years, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) urged the State Department to take bolder action to help bring home American children abducted overseas and implement stronger tools—including sanctions—provided by the Sean and David Goldman Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act at a hearing on Capitol Hill today. Much of the attention focused on Japan—where many American military personnel are stationed—which has a pat... Read more

Today, on United Nations’ World Tourism Day, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), an international leader in the fight against human trafficking, said that nations can both “recognize tourism’s significant contributions to the world economy, but must also work hard to combat and end international sex tourism to protect those who are most vulnerable—especially children—from exploitation." "We can—we must—do both," said Rep. Smith, author of International Megan’s Law to combat child sex tourism and four addi... Read more

The House of Representatives this week passed an amendment offered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) directing the federal government’s “watchdog” agency to investigate the Department of Defense’s (DOD) possible weaponization of ticks and other insects with Lyme disease during its consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (H.R. 4350). “In the spirit of transparency and accountability, my amendment directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to probe whether th... Read more