In a letter to Verizon, Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) this week urged the telecommunications giant to “heed the genuine economic, aesthetic, environmental and health concerns of the community” and rescind its plans to install twenty 30-foot towers along the boardwalk in Belmar as the corporation’s wrongful lawsuit against the town has opened a new opportunity to halt the project. “I write to express my strong opposition to Verizon’s plans to install imposing, unsightly 5G infrastructure along... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, today issued the following statement in response to the ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that, pending consideration by the Supreme Court, would reinstate the stronger protections for the chemical abortion pill mifepristone that were in place before 2016. “Mifepristone was created to starve unborn babies to death and poses significant risks to the mother’s health. While these dangers should have been reason enoug... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), who voted against the Biden Inflation Reduction Act, released the following statement in response to President Biden celebrating it’s one-year anniversary: “As Americans continue to battle high prices, Democrats are boasting about today’s one-year anniversary of President Biden’s egregious tax and spending spree that was insultingly named the ‘Inflation Reduction Act.’ Their jarring celebration of this tax-and-spend legislation—which I strongly opposed and voted... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House Global Health and Global Human Rights Subcommittee, today issued the following statement: “Based on credible allegations of bribery and influence peddling, I am respectfully and urgently requesting that both the Governments of Sweden and Liberia immediately investigate and determine whether any or several Liberian Senators or Representatives received cash payments to influence or secure their votes in favor of pending legislation to legalize abortion-... Read more

U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and longtime congressional advocate for human rights, released the following statement regarding Chinese human rights advocate Lu Siwei, calling for his immediate release. “I will work with the Laotian government to help bring Chinese human rights advocate Lu Siwei to the United States so that he can be reunited with his family. It is very important that Laos abide by its international obligations, as a ... Read more

United States Representative Chris Smith (NJ-04), the Chair of the House Global Human Rights subcommittee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, today called on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to provide proof that Bishop Álvarez is alive and to allow the Red Cross to examine the Bishop: “Bishop Álvarez, a courageous and compassionate servant of God, has suffered immensely at the hands of Daniel Ortega’s brutal regime for more than a year now. He reportedly remains unjustly ... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, Chair of a United States congressional Global Human Rights subcommittee and the Co-Chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, is calling on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to release Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, a well-known Azerbaijani economist and academic whose health has significantly deteriorated after he was unjustly arrested on July 23 in Baku. Professor Ibadoghlu has been a vocal critic of the current government and has worked to increase transparency and hol... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today issued the following statement in response to a recently surfaced grant request by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) asking for research assistance and citing “knowledge gaps” related to its unprecedented offshore wind projects along the Jersey Shore: “Talk about a day late and billions already spent. “For BOEM to concede after the fact that they have ‘knowledge gaps’ is both stunning and shocking and reason to pause the massive industrialization... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today issued the following statement on the passing of Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver: “Lieutenant Governor Oliver was a longtime public servant who worked hard for New Jersey citizens in local government, in the Assembly, and most recently as Lieutenant Governor. My wife Marie and I appreciate her decades of service and offer our prayers and deep condolences to her family, friends and loved ones as they mourn her loss.” ### Read more

The infant sperm whale lay on its side in the cold sand, sleek and shining in the December sun. Adult sperm whales can grow up to 67 feet and weigh as much as 45 tons. This one was tiny by comparison—weighing about a ton and, at 12 feet long, measuring roughly the size of a kayak. Authorities from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) in Brigantine noted that it was still nursing before it died and speculated that it might have gotten separated from its mother and starved to death. What mad... Read more