“The offensive words used by President Trump require an apology. As chair of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, I have taken numerous trips to Central American and African countries and have chaired over 85 hearings on issues related to Africa alone. I have visited South Sudan twice within the last 18 months to investigate violence and famine and find solutions. What I have consistently taken away has been the innate goodness a... Read more

After Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced that Florida would be exempt from his proposal to open almost all of the U.S. outer continental shelf to oil and gas exploration and drilling, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) said that other states with serious concerns about offshore drilling should be exempt as well. Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) spoke on the House Floor on Tuesday in defense of Iranians who are protesting the corruption of their regime and demanding greater respect for human rights. Read more

Following the Administration’s proposal to open over 90 percent of the U.S. outer continental shelf to oil and gas exploration and development—including off the coast of New Jersey—Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) stated his serious concern and opposition to the move. Read more

The State Department on Thursday issued its annual designations of countries with the most egregious records of abusing religious freedom, yet it omitted Vietnam from the list despite its severe violations of religious freedom, an omission that is unacceptable, said Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House global human rights subcommittee. Read more

A provision to give houses of worship access to critical federal disaster relief, and another provision allowing disaster victims to be eligible for both federal grants and federal loans for disaster assistance, were passed Thursday by the House as part of the third supplemental disaster relief bill. Both provisions reflect legislation originally authored by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), chairman of the Africa Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, gave the following statement in advance of Liberia’s presidential run-off election next week: “Liberia again faces many challenges as their voters head to the polls on December 26, 2017 for its Presidential run-off election. The Government of Liberia must ensure that this vote is free, fair and transparent. Given America’s historic ties to Liberia and the role played by Americo-Liberians in ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith issued the following statement after the House voted on H.R.1, the tax bill: On Wednesday, December 20th, I voted “no” on H.R. 1 because while I believe that Americans are overtaxed, this bill does not provide needed tax relief for New Jersey residents. The bill rolls back or entirely eliminates certain itemized deductions, and almost half—47%—of the taxpayers in my district itemize, claiming an average of $31,981 in deductions. Foremost among these changes that I opposed was t... Read more

On December 8, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) concluded its annual meeting of the Foreign Ministers of 57 OSCE participating States by adopting a ministerial decision on combatting child trafficking—modeled on OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) resolutions adopted in 2016 and 2017, authored by Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04). Rep. Smith is the Special Representative on Human Trafficking Issues in the OSCE PA. Entitled “Strengthening Effort... Read more

Legislation introduced by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) naming the U.S. post office in Belmar, NJ in honor of Dr. Walter S. McAfee, a distinguished local scientist who helped with the development of radar transmissions into space, passed the House today. “I am thankful that today we are able to honor such a great man and I urge my fellow colleagues to support this bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1300 Main Street in Belmar, New Jersey, as the ‘Dr. Wa... Read more