By Rose L. Thayer Published January 23, 2026 Congress tasked a government watchdog with researching whether the Defense Department weaponized ticks with Lyme disease as part of a Cold War-era bioweapons program, in hopes that finding an origin can lead toward better testing, treatments and cures. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., added the amendment to the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which specifically calls on the Government Accountability Office to review government documents ... Read more

“President Trump’s new, comprehensive Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance policy is humane, life-affirming, and rejects the culture of death,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. “It conditions critical funding—$30 billion of foreign aid—to serve our national interest as well as humanitarian and health priorities, instead of bankrolling UN entities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that promote and perform abortion violence,” Smith stated. “Unb... Read more

The following are excerpts of Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee’s January 22nd hearing—his fourteenth hearing chaired exclusively on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda—entitled “Advancing Peace in DRC and Rwanda through President Trump’s Washington Accords”: My engagement in supporting peace between Rwanda and DRC spans more than three decades, from a focus on the immediate aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide t... Read more

By Mary Rose Published January 22, 2026 Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey urged lawmakers during a House floor debate Jan. 21 to protect pregnancy care centers, sharing stories of women and families who made it through dramatic crises thanks to their work. The chamber later voted to pass legislation allowing states to direct federal welfare funds to such centers. Speaking ahead of the vote, Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, argued that pregnancy resource centers are e... Read more

On Thursday, January 22nd, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, joined EWTN News Nightly’s Veronica Dudo to discuss the 53rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, legislative efforts in Congress to protect life, and the 2026 March for Life. The full interview can be viewed by clicking here. ### Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, today debated on the House floor in support of the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act (HR 6945), legislation he cosponsored to enable states to provide Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funding for pregnancy care centers. Smith, who has long advocated for enhanced federal protections for pregnancy care centers—often the targets of biased harassment, discrimination, and malignme... Read more

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to clarify that pregnancy centers can receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funding from states. “The House passage of HR 6945—the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act—reaffirms the necessity of the critical, life-saving and life-enhancing services that pregnancy centers provide, and protects the rights of states to support and fund them,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), an original co-spo... Read more

By Mallory Wilson Published Wednesday, January 21, 2026 Ahead of the annual March for Life this week, House Republicans passed legislation that would ensure federal funding continues for pregnancy resource centers serving low-income women. Just one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, joined Republicans to pass the bill in a 215-209 vote. The legislation, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, would codify states’ ability to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fu... Read more

By Kate Scanlon Published January 21, 2026 at 1:54 PM WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus said he has continued to call on the Trump administration to promptly conduct a pledged safety review of mifepristone, a pill commonly, but not exclusively, used for early abortion. Asked in a Jan. 15 interview with OSV News if he was confident that a safety review was underway, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a longtime Catholic lawmaker, said, “I don’t know for sure, but I have ask... Read more

On Thursday, January 22nd, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, will chair his fourteenth congressional hearing focused exclusively on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, including the political unrest and human rights violations occurring in the region. In wake of President Trump’s historic peace deal between Rwanda and the DRC on December 4th, 2025, this hearing will examine the United States’ role in overseeing the peace proce... Read more