By Chris Smith (R-NJ) - Tuesday, July 12, 2016 ANALYSIS/OPINION: On June 22nd, I was part of a group of lawmakers led by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy who met with Health and Human Services (HHS )Secretary Sylvia Burwell and HHS Director of the Office for Civil Rights Jocelyn Samuels to respectfully ask why the Administration has refused to enforce the Weldon federal conscience law in the case of California’s two-year-old draconian, coercive abortion order. The state of California forces all in... Read more

Statement from U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04): “The horrific attack on the Dallas Police force—with at least five brutally murdered and seven more wounded—as they worked to keep the people of Dallas safe, along with the injury of two civilians, is heartbreaking. The victims as well as their friends and families are in our prayers and we wish a full recovery to all those who were injured. “We thank law enforcement around the country. The risks they face daily to protect the people of the United St... Read more

The Global Food Security Act, bipartisan legislation to address one of the greatest challenges faced by the international community—global hunger—received final congressional approval this week and is expected to become law in days. “The Global Food Security Act (GFSA) will save lives by combatting hunger and malnutrition, and promoting new agricultural practices that especially help lift women, children and families out of poverty,” said Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), author of the Global Food Secur... Read more

U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Joe Crowley (D-NY) today introduced the Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act. This bipartisan and bicameral bill will improve efforts to assist Holocaust survivors and the families of Holocaust victims by requiring the State Department to report on the progress of certain European countries on the return of, or restitution for, wrongfully confiscated or transferred Holocaust-... Read more

“The Castro Regime’s Ongoing Violations of Civil and Political Rights” is the topic of a House hearing set for Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the global human rights subcommittee. “This hearing will examine the human rights situation in Cuba, where it seems disregard for civil and political rights has gotten worse, not better, since the President’s much-trumpeted visit to the island six weeks ago,” Smith said. “The regime continues to jail and beat political dissidents, ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, gave the following remarks on the House Floor today: Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Florida for his extraordinary leadership on this bill and on the life issue. Mr. Chairman, on June 8, 1983, 33 years ago, I sponsored the amendment to ban the use of taxpayer funds to subsidize abortion in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The Smith amendment passed 226 to 182, and has been in effect almost ... Read more

The accuracy and political pressures contained in the State Department’s newly released Trafficking in Persons report will be the topic of a House hearing Tuesday entitled “Accountability Over Politics: Scrutinizing the Trafficking in Persons Report.” The Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons will testify at the hearing, which will be held by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House global human rights subcommittee. “The State Department’s annual Traffickin... Read more

By the TIMES OF TRENTON EDITORIAL BOARD - The state's lawmakers say they are committed to push the Air Force to select the New Jersey base to house the new wide-body aircraft that will replace the aging fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers, which have been the Air Force's refueling workhorse for more than 50 years. The Air Force is expected to make a final decision before the end of the year. As U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) pointed out, the base is "strongly positioned from a geographic and strat... Read more

With the release of the 2016 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report today President Obama and the U.S. State Department have once again placed politics over victims when it comes to human trafficking in several key countries. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of a House panel on human rights and author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which among other provisions mandates the annual world-wide trafficking assessment and ranking report, noted the experts in the Offic... Read more

By MATT PENNINGTON, ASSOCIATED PRESS — The United States removed Thailand from its human trafficking blacklist on Thursday, though forced labor remains widespread in the nation's lucrative seafood industry. The State Department made the assessment in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which examines 188 governments' efforts in combating modern-day slavery. Key U.S. trading partner Malaysia was taken off the blacklist controversially in 2015, soon after the discovery of mass graves of susp... Read more