With the strong support and vote of Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), the House Foreign Affairs Committee today voted (24-23) to advance legislation that would prevent President Biden from signing the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Treaty without prior Senate ratification. Cosponsored by Smith, the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act (HR 1425) now heads to the House Floor for consideration and passage. “From day one, we have been pressing the Biden Administr... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today issued the following statement after voting to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress: “Attorney General Garland’s continued refusal to hand over the audio tapes of Special Counsel Hur’s interview with President Biden is nothing less than a complete coverup. In his final report, Special Counsel Hur stated that it would be difficult to convict President Biden of a serious felony because he is an ‘elderly man with a poor memory... Read more

Legislation (HR 7025) authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is headed to the House Floor after winning unanimous support from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a markup session today. Smith’s bill—which would extend the independent commission for an additional two years through September 2026—has already been endorsed by more than 160 organizations and individuals representing scholars, religious and secular leade... Read more

With the strong support and vote of Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), the House of Representatives today passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act ­(HR 8281)—commonly referred to as the SAVE Act—to require individuals to present proof of their United States citizenship before they can register to vote in federal elections. “Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy—and strengthening the security and integrity of our elections is absolutely critical to ensuring the vi... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a recognized international leader in the fight against human trafficking, today chaired a congressional hearing examining the U.S. State Department’s findings in its recently released Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report, which is mandated by Smith’s landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) that was enacted in 2000. “The TIP Report is the gold standard for cataloguing countries’ records and using the information to push them to end the scourge of trafficking,” ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the following statement in response to the Biden Administration’s approval of the Atlantic Shores South offshore wind proposal: “In spite of the many major offshore wind failures to date, the Biden Administration continues to recklessly jam through its approval of the Atlantic Shores South project—which includes 195 offshore wind turbines with transmission cables making landfall in Sea Girt and disrupting several other Jersey Shore towns. Unquestionably, these 195... Read more

Ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Washington next week, 142 House lawmakers led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) urged President Biden to press Turkey’s President to end his aggressive transnational repression campaign and persecution of opposition groups. “We are writing to bring to your attention the deeply concerning human rights situation in Turkey, particularly the transnational repression campaign orchestrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss Moyle (Idaho) v. United States as “improvidently granted,” effectively reinstating a lower court injunction on Idaho’s Defense of Life Act and allowing litigation to continue in the lower courts: “While the Supreme Court decided to not rule on the merits of this case at this time, I trust that the lower courts—which now take up this case—will reco... Read more

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee, issued the following statement in response to reports that Irada Bayramova, the wife of Azerbaijani political prisoner Dr. Gubad Ibadoglu, continues to suffer severe physical trauma from a brutal arrest executed last year by Azerbaijani police: “The savage beating of a political prisoner’s wife—a woman who has not engaged in any public political activity—marks a new low for the Azerbaijani government. Azerbaij... Read more

A recent audit issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) exposing the skyrocketing exorbitant costs of offshore wind development in Denmark—a major hub for projects—should be “a major wake-up call for Governor Murphy that even his massive government subsidies and ratepayer hikes won’t be enough to foot the ever-growing bill for his reckless pursuit of offshore wind,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester). Denmark is home to offshore wind giant Orsted, which backed out of its two offshore wind proje... Read more