Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Caucus, introduced legislation to codify the LymeX Accelerator Program (LymeX), a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, which funds prize competitions to advance innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease. “Over the past four years, LymeX has been a beacon of hope for the millions of Lyme p... Read more

By International Christian Concern Published February 12, 2026 U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, and Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV), with the support of other lawmakers, introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Secretary of State to compile and submit a comprehensive report to Congress on U.S. efforts to address Christian persecution and mass atrocities in Nigeria. For more than two decades, International Christian Concern ICC has chronic... Read more

By Frances Martel Published February 11, 2026 House Republicans led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Riley Moore (R-WV) introduced a bill on Monday calling for the State Department to offer comprehensive reports on American actions to protect Christians persecuted by a host of jihadist terror threats in Nigeria, as well as efforts to convince the Nigerian government to take the threat seriously. The “Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act” supports efforts by President Donald Trump to p... Read more

By CBN News Published February 11, 2026 The U.S. is planning to send 200 American troops to help fight terrorism in Nigeria, according to the Wall Street Journal. The contingent will reinforce a small group of U.S. military personnel already on the ground there. Officials say the U.S. troops will not be involved directly in combat, but their mission is to train Nigeria's military to fight Islamic militants. "The terrorist activity in West Africa—and Nigeria specifically—is something we're incred... Read more

By Hannah Hiester Published February 11, 2026 Several members of Congress from foreign affairs committees introduced legislation in the House of Representatives Feb. 10 to institute strategies holding Nigeria accountable for the ongoing persecution of Christians in the country. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who co-introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 with its author, Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., stated in a press release that the legislation would require the U.S. se... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, and Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV), along with the backing of an impressive team of leading foreign affairs lawmakers, today introduced new legislation that would require the U.S. Secretary of State to compile and submit to Congress a comprehensive report on U.S. efforts to address the ongoing religious persecution and mass atrocities in Nigeria. Garnering the early support of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman B... Read more

By Derek VanBuskirk Published February 10, 2026 at 10:20 AM ET House Republicans have introduced a bill Tuesday to prompt U.S. action to document “religious persecution and mass atrocities in Nigeria,” the Daily Caller first learned. The Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 calls on the Secretary of State to give the foreign affairs committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate an annual report on U.S. efforts to address Christian persecution. It also calls on the... Read more

The following are excerpts of Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee’s February 10th hearing—his fifteenth 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 – Part II”: My engagement in supporting peace between Rwanda and the DRC—like my good friend and former colleague, Ambassador Tony Hall, who will testify today—... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, issued the following statement in wake of a Hong Kong court’s horrific 20-year sentencing of the 78-year-old Jimmy Lai—functionally, a life sentence: Jimmy Lai is a man of faith and conscientious conviction, and he should be released immediately. Despite—or perhaps, in spite of—his life’s work as a legendary entrepreneur and a lion of free speech, Jimmy has been unjustly prosecuted and persecuted by functionar... Read more

By Tessa Gervasini Published February 9, 2026 at 4:45 PM ET “The Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Feb. 9 statement. Jimmy Lai, Catholic entrepreneur and media tycoon, was sentenced on Feb. 9 to 20 years in prison over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations. The sentencing comes after Lai’s December 2025 conviction, which ended several years of w... Read more