The House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted an amendment by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) today calling for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan for the immediate return of the approximately 156 U.S. children currently being held in Japan against the wishes of their American parent, and in many cases in violation of valid U.S. court orders. “The amendment passed today makes it clear that the United States must, by way of an MOU with Japan, or any other appropriate means, seek the immed... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) today announced the introduction of a bill he wrote to combat Lyme disease. Smith is the sponsor of the measure, H.R. 2557, which would support federal efforts concerning Lyme and other tick-borne diseases through the establishment of a Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee. Smith co-chairs the House Lyme Disease Caucus, along with Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Tim Holden (D-PA), who are both cosponsors of the bill. “It seems everywhere I go, someone comes up to me to tal... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) headlined an Alzheimer’s Disease informational briefing Thursday organized by the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) and the California Healthcare Institute. This devastating disease afflicts over 5 million people in the U.S. alone, a number that is expected to triple in coming decades, at a projected financial cost of over $1 trillion a year by 2050. “Alzheimer’s is without a doubt the future health care crisis for our nation,” said Smith, who co-chairs th... Read more

By David Karas, Contributor/July 13, 2011 Patty McPeak had no inkling that her new training on how to spot human trafficking would be put to use so quickly. Traveling from the Dominican Republic back to the United States after a humanitarian mission, Ms. McPeak was in the airport boarding area when a man and a little girl sitting nearby drew her attention. The man seemed to know little about his young companion, according to testimony McPeak submitted to Congress last July, and he became nervous... Read more

"Mr. Speaker, the people of South Sudan have endured two decades of wanton violence, rape, torture and hunger systematically imposed upon them by the Bashir dictatorship in Khartoum. More than two million people were killed, four million people displaced, and countless families decimated. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 ended the war and put South Sudan on the path to nationhood... ." To read Cong. Smith's full remarks on the Congressional Record, click here. To watch Cong. Smith's flo... Read more

The failed nation state of Somalia, whose people are plagued with drought, civil conflict, health crises, pirates and terrorists, was the focus of a joint congressional hearing by the House Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Subcommittee chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), and the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Ed Royce (CA-40). The hearing, entitled “Assessing the Consequences of the Failed State of Somalia,” featured expert testimony from the U.... Read more

Support for people struggling to obtain basic human rights in Belarus—often called Europe’s last dictatorship—came today in the form of the House of Representatives passage of the Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011. The bill, H.R. 515, calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Belarus, including those detained in the post-election crackdown, and refuses to recognize the results of the flawed recent elections. “The repressive regime in Belarus was... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) met with the staff and hospital visitors at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton in June. Smith met with Chairwoman of the Board Lynne Cannon, CEO, President Anthony "Skip" Cimino, who is a former NJ State Assemblyman, Board Member Peter Inverso, a former NJ State Senator, and other senior RWJ-Hamilton board members and staff to discuss the hospital's services and health care issues. Later, Smith and congressional staff toured some of the hospital's... Read more

The Obama Administration’s decision to grant China a political waiver in this year’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report was called a deep disappointment by the lawmaker who wrote the first-ever U.S. law to combat trafficking in 2000—the same law which also created the annual report and its ranking system (Public Law 106-386). Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) as well as subsequent laws to make TVPA stronger, said he was “de... Read more

The dreaded disease that has stricken millions of suffering victims, threatens millions more and could exact a projected financial cost of over $1 trillion a year by 2050 was the topic of the first ever congressional hearing on the U.S. and global crisis of Alzheimer’s disease. “We seem to be at a precipice now of making great strides on several different fronts,” said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), the chairman of the House subcommittee which oversees global health issues, who with Rep. Edwar... Read more