Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the release of three American prisoners who had been wrongfully detained in China: “We are overjoyed that Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung are finally being released from their wrongful detention in China and that their family members—including those who shared testimony at the congressional hearing I chaired in September... Read more

In a bicameral letter led by House Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), 112 Members of Congress today asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate and report on the amount of federal funding that has been awarded to abortion providers—including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the International Planned Parenthood Federation—over the past three years. Among t... Read more

Legislation (H.Res. 915) authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) in response to a New Jersey couple whose adoption of Ukrainian siblings was abruptly upended when Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022 passed the House of Representatives today in an overwhelming vote of 372-6. During House debate on his resolution, Smith shared the story of Matt and Deidre Gordon, who were in the final stage of adopting Bogdan and Galena—an orphan brother and sister—when Ukraine suspended intercountry adoptions after... Read more

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, issued the following statement on Somaliland’s successful presidential election: “Congratulations to the people of Somaliland for once again conducting ‘free, fair and credible’ elections and to President-elect Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and the Waddani Party on their victory. President Muse Bihi Abdi’s commitment to a peaceful transition of p... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-Chair of the Israel Allies Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant: “The ICC’s outrageous issuance of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister Gallant is a grotesquely bad decision by a court that is corrupted by blatant antise... Read more

With the strong support and vote of Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), the House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed (388-21) legislation—H.Res. 1449—condemning the global rise of antisemitism and calling on countries and international bodies to counter antisemitic hate. “The spiritual cancer of antisemitism is metastasizing—not only in our own country but in many others as well—at a rate that is both shocking and sickening,” said Rep. Smith, the Co-Chair of the House Task Force for Co... Read more

Jean Mikle Asbury Park Press Staff Writer - "It's finally here!" Patricia O'Kane exclaimed, to a round of raucous applause. O'Kane, executive medical center director of the VA New Jersey Healthcare System, was hailing the grand opening ceremony of the long-awaited Veterans Affairs Clinic on Hooper Avenue, a 68,000-square-foot facility that began seeing patients late last month. But on Monday, O'Kane, Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the VA's under secretary for health, and a raft of dignitaries, including U... Read more

BY KANIS LEUNG Updated 9:39 AM EST, November 19, 2024 - Forty-five prominent activists in Hong Kong were sentenced to jail for up to 10 years on Tuesday, sparking criticism from foreign governments and rights groups, but Beijing defended the decisions. The democracy advocates were among 47 people charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to pick opposition candidates. In the city’s biggest national security case to date... Read more

At a congressional hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today, the widow and three adult children of renowned Northern Ireland human rights attorney Patrick Finucane shared their expectations for the recently established, long-overdue independent inquiry into British collusion in Patrick’s murder on February 12, 1989—when he was gunned down in his Belfast home in front of his wife and children. “For 35 years, the Finucane family has steadfastly and honorably pursued an independent public ... Read more

At a ceremony in Toms River today, Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) was joined by veterans and other federal, state and local officials to cut the ribbon for the new Ocean County Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic on Hooper Avenue, which will replace the Brick clinic that Smith secured in the 1980s but can no longer accommodate the large veteran population in the area. “Words are inadequate to fully convey America’s thanks to our veterans,” said Rep. Smith. “Still, we gather here today to solemnly and... Read more