Speaking today at the annual Vietnam Human Rights Day event on Capitol Hill, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) said that the U.S. should be “conditioning” any expansion of trade benefits or arms sales to Vietnam on “significant, verifiable, and irreversible improvements” in religious freedom, labor rights, Internet freedom, and other democratic freedoms. Congress designated May 11th as “Vietnam Human Rights Day” in 1994. As Chairman of the congressional panel that oversees international human righ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), a senior Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after the termination of FBI Director James Comey: “As we face the post-Comey era, any and all investigations in Congress and at the FBI/DOJ, into links between Russia and individuals associated with political campaigns in the US, must continue with one objective—the truth.” Read more

“Today we feel genuine relief for the release of the 82 kidnapped girls after they survived three years of abuse, torture, sexual assault and rape that marked their imprisonment by the terrorist group Boko Haram,” said Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, who has held eight hearings on Nigeria and authored several pieces of legislation to help humanitarian crises. “Their welcomed freedom is onl... Read more

The winners of the 2017 Annual Congressional Art Competition were announced Thursday by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), who sponsors the annual show for high school students in the Fourth Congressional District. “The student artists’ submissions in the 2017 competition were again impressive this year,” Smith said. “We had many entries from across Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties in the Fourth Congressional District. I congratulate ‘Best-in-Show’ winner, Tallia Maglione, and all the winners a... Read more

This week, the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association (Order of AHEPA) awarded Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) with the “2017 AHEPA Pericles Award,” based on his “proven history of excellence in public service and commitment to principles and ideals.” “The Order of AHEPA is proud to present its Pericles Award for outstanding public service to Congressman Chris Smith,” said AHEPA Chairman of Cyprus/Hellenic Affairs Savas Tsivicos, who resides in New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District. Tsiv... Read more

By Herb Jackson Gannett Staff Writer - Flight attendants, hotel clerks and government purchasing officers would join prosecutors and diplomats in the global fight against trafficking human beings for sex or labor under a bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith that the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved in a unanimous voice vote Wednesday. Smith, a Republican from Mercer County, was an original sponsor of the 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and the latest renewal of that law -- most fe... Read more

Excerpts from Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04): "I voted no on the AHCA largely because it cuts Medicaid funding by $839 billion; undercuts essential health benefits such as maternity care, newborn care, hospitalization and pediatric services; includes ‘per capita caps’ and weakens coverage for pre-existing health conditions—all of which will hurt disabled persons (especially and including children and adults with autism), the elderly and the working poor. Over the past several years, we have seen the f... Read more

Today the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act of 2017 (Smith-Bass Douglass TVPA, H.R. 2200), authored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and lead Democrat Karen Bass (CA-37), today advanced from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and moves closer to House passage.. The Smith-Bass legislation, named after the great American abolitionist, will build on the successes of the original Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and ensure that victims get the protecti... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, joined with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today in holding a hearing to examine the long-term prospects for human rights and basic freedoms in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s autonomy is being threatened by the Chinese government’s interventions in Hong Kong’s political affairs and its courts, the slow erosion of press and academic freedoms under Beijing’s pressure and the abduction of Hong Kong’s citizens by Chines... Read more

The introduction of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), authored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) nearly 18 years ago, created a sea change in the way the United States battled human trafficking. No longer would victims suffer in silence while their traffickers roam free. Today, the House Panel on Global Human Rights—Chaired by Smith—held a hearing focused on the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (Smith-Bass Douglass TVPRA... Read more