By VOA Digital Journalist Salem Solomon - A U.S. congressional delegation returned from central Africa last week with one overriding question: what can be done to stop South Sudan's war and help the refugees streaming into Uganda, suffering from a lack of food? Representative Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, says the answer lies with the parties in South Sudan's conflict, especially the government and military, which have been accused of blocking food aid to needy populations, using ra... Read more

In response to the ISIS genocide against Christians, Yazidis and other religious and ethnic minorities, the House of Representatives today unanimously passed the bipartisan Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act (H.R. 390). The legislation was authored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House panel on global human rights, and co-authored by Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA-18). “On May 9, 2016, the House passed Jeff Fortenberry’s genocide resolution 393 to 0. A few days lat... Read more

By Star Ledger Staff Writer Jonathan Salant - The new KC-46A refueling tankers will be delivered first to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and then to the second base selected to house the planes, according to Rep. Chris Smith. Smith (R-4th Dist.), whose district includes part of the base, called the Air Force announcement "a big win for the base and a monumental step that will further secure its future and thousands of New Jersey jobs for decades come." He said the refueling mission "allows the... Read more

By Asbury Park Press Staff Writer Kala Kachmar - Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst will get the newest refueling tankers in 2021 — two years before the other base also chosen to get them. For the Joint Base, that means $154 million in military construction sooner than originally expected and insurance of the economic viability of the base for decades to come, officials said. The 24 new KC-46A Pegasus planes are expected to secure a future for the base that's been on the chopping block in the past... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) delivered the following statement on the attacks outside the Turkish embassy: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H. Res. 354, condemning the violence perpetrated against peaceful protesters outside the Turkish Ambassdor’s residence during Turkish President Erdogan’s visit last month. This timely and critically important measure was introduced by my good friend, and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, ED ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, as representatives of... Read more

Rep.Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House Panel on Global Human Rights, delivered the following remarks in support of his legislation, H.R. 390: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership on this bill. I want to thank Ranking Member ENGEL for his support and also Majority Leader MCCARTHY for making sure this bill came to the floor. Without that, we wouldn’t be here, so I want to thank him especially for his suppo... Read more

The decision by the United States Air Force to sequence new KC-46A refueling tankers to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst first, before Travis AFB, is a big win that will protect thousands of New Jersey jobs, so says Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04). “Today’s notice that the Air Force has selected JBMDL first, in its sequencing for the delivery of KC-46A Main Operating Base 4, is a big win for the base and a monumental step that will further secure its future and thousands of NJ jobs for decades come,” s... Read more

Refugee camps in East Africa have swelled to the size of American cities, overflowing with starving children and displaced families and growing by the thousands every day, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), who led a bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) mission to war-torn South Sudan and neighboring Uganda. The chairman of the congressional panel that oversees Africa, global health and global human rights issues led the mission to observe U.S. efforts to address the famine in South Suda... Read more

By Herb Jackson, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT - Eric M. Mellinger was a Marine colonel directing humanitarian relief in the Philippines in 2013 when a delegation from Congress showed up that included Rep. Chris Smith, a 36-year veteran and dean of the New Jersey delegation. “He looks over and he goes, ‘Do you remember me?’ ” Smith, R-Mercer County, recalled last week. “I didn’t remember his face, but I did remember the name.” Mellinger was a high school student from Old Bridge and Smith was serving ... Read more

By Asbury Park Press Staff Writer Jerry Carino - T.J. Fearon paid a price for serving in the Vietnam War. He was poisoned by Agent Orange and came home with post-traumatic stress disorder. “I’m not a hero,” the Navy man said, “but I did my job.” He documented that job as part of the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, which has been collecting firsthand accounts of war since 2000. While providing his testimony a few years back, Fearon offhandedly told his interviewer, “This will... Read more