Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) this week cosponsored new legislation (H.R. 7690) to defund the Biden Administration’s so-called “Disinformation Governance Board”—the taxpayer-funded initiative posing threats to free speech that was recently announced by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The bill—introduced by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy—would prohibit the use of federal funds to establish or carry out the DHS Disinformation Governance Board or any other simil...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and Ranking Member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, today released the following statement on the recent arrest of Hong Kong Cardinal Zen and other democracy advocates: “The arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen and other democracy advocates by Hong Kong police is an egregious abuse of human rights and religious freedom that should chill freedom-loving people the world over. The persecution of Cardinal Zen, f...
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Jerry Carino Asbury Park Press USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY Page 1 In January, Bill Borowsky Jr. was discharged from the Marine Corps for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccination. Now the lifelong Point Pleasant resident is supporting a bill introduced by Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith that would require reinstatement of service members who opted not to be vaccinated. The bill (H.R. 7570) seeks “to establish certain protections for individuals involuntarily separated from the Armed Forces so...
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The leak of Justice Alito’s February draft opinion on Dobbs is an egregious abuse of process and trust. That said, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to take a powerful step towards empowering elected representatives to protect the weakest and most vulnerable. We are at the tipping point. A new national debate on abortion has begun and fresh scrutiny must be brought to bear on how the lives of unborn children are destroyed including by dismemberment with sharp knives, pulverization by powerful...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the following statement today on the 47th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon: “Today, April 30, marks the 47th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the free Republic of Vietnam. Tragically, the Communist government that has ruled the entire country since then asserted totalitarian control over society, which led to a great exodus of people fleeing for hope of a better life and for freedom. Today our nation has been enriched by the contributions of so man...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a staunch advocate for those who serve in uniform, this week introduced new legislation—H.R. 7570—that would require top-ranking military officials to reinstate U.S. service members seeking to return to service after being forcibly discharged from duty as a result of President Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate. Smith, who has authored more than a dozen laws to help veterans and their families, said his legislation comes in response to meetings with constituents—including a ...
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Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Ted Deutch (D-FL), Co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, today issued a joint call for added vigilance against hate crimes—including increased levels of protection for the Jewish community and more extensive education on the threat of antisemitism—in response to a report released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “Antisemitism won’t go away by ignoring it or wishing it away—it must be defeated,” said Rep. Smith. “There must be z...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, today issued the following statement on “Yom HaShoah”—Holocaust Remembrance Day: “Today, we remember and mourn the over 6 million Jewish men, women and children who died at the hands of Nazi persecution during World War II. Tragically, the same antisemitic hate that fueled the systemic murder campaign waged by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis against innocent Jews plagues the world today in its many manif...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today joined military officials at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, where construction is now underway for a new Lakehurst Readiness Center designed to aid in the training of Guard members and help maintain equipment and unit readiness for deployment. The project comes after $15 million in federal funds have been secured to build the new Center for the 250th Brigade Support Battalion—the ground maintenance company for the New Jersey Army National Guard’s largest brigade...
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In a high-level meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the Capitol, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today raised the need to indict and prosecute Vladimir Putin for war crimes now and resolve the dire humanitarian situation unfolding in Europe—including and especially the escalating risk of human trafficking—as Putin continues to wage the largest and most lethal attack in Europe since World War II. “Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and others responsible for unleashing the massive death ...
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