By Susanne Cervenka, Asbury Park Press - Published 5:00 a.m. ET July 16, 2019 People suffering with Lyme disease could be closer to knowing whether the chronic illness impacting an estimated 300,000 or more people started off as a U.S. biological weapon. U.S. Rep Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, hopes that knowledge could lead not only to accountability but also a potential cure and greater recognition of the disease. "My hope is, this jump starts a very aggressive effort to find a cure and see how th... Read more

Bringing home American children who are abducted to foreign countries was the topic of a congressional hearing chaired Thursday by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) with U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary Carl C. Risch, international child abduction expert Patricia Apy, and devastated ‘left behind’ mother Ruchika Abbi testifying before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. “The Goldman Act specifically lists increasingly escalating actions, from a demarche – or a protest through diplomatic... Read more

The full House of Representatives passed an amendment offered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) which directs the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Defense to investigate the “possible involvement of DOD biowarfare labs in the weaponization of Lyme disease in ticks and other insects” from 1950-1975. According to Smith, he was “inspired to write the amendment”—now part of the House-passed 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)—by “a number of books and articles suggesting that signifi... Read more

An international parliamentary assembly of leading lawmakers from 54 countries today unanimously adopted an anti-human trafficking initiative authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) to further protect children by teaching them about the risks of human trafficking. Smith offered his “Educating Schoolchildren to Avoid Human Trafficking” resolution at the 28th Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCEPA) held in Luxemburg July 4-... Read more

Charitable donations dipped in 2018 because fewer people could deduct their charitable donations due to changes in the income tax laws. Organizations like The Tax Policy Center predicted that would start happening when the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act kicked in. The law, by design, makes it more beneficial for filers to take the standard deduction, which has nearly doubled, and skip the convoluted Schedule A to itemize deductions. A report released Tuesday by the 2019 Giving USA Foundation quan... Read more

In the span of just six days, the House of Representatives adopted two separate amendments authored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) to increase funding to combat Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. One Smith amendment, approved in the 2020 defense budget (Division C of H.R. 2740), adds $2 million to the DOD’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) for Tick-Borne Disease Research. The program is currently funded at $5 million. “Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne diseas... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today the awarding of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant to Lakewood Airport is another solid step to modernize the Lakewood Township facility. Recent infrastructure improvements to the airport have helped enhance air operations, leading to a shortage in aircraft tie-down apron spots and hangar space. The airport, which first foresaw the need following a study more than a decade ago, has been hard-pressed to meet the need of both locally-based and ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chairman of Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission along with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), today held a bipartisan hearing on the perilous state of religious freedom for Christians in China, Nigeria, Iran and other places around the world. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, head of the U.S. State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, led the witness panels, followed by the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious F... Read more

Co-Chairmen Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) will hold a hearing of The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on Thursday, June 27 on the violations of the right to freedom of religion inflicted upon minority Christian populations around the world. The deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in April 2019 underscored the vulnerability of the Christian population in that country. Indeed, in many parts of the world, Christians are a vulnerable minority targeted for their faith. The Chri... Read more

BY VIN EBENAU, WOBM/Townsquare Media - Point Pleasant Beach will finally see some upgrades to its beaches after Jersey Shore Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ, Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer Counties) announced that the Army Corps of Engineers negotiated a contract to get dredging work done in the borough. The beach replenishment contractor, Weeks Marine, will be returning to Point Pleasant Beach to pump additional sand in sections that experienced significant erosion during May's severe weather storms.... Read more