Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement on the reported arrest of Catholic Bishop Rolando José Álvarez in Nicaragua: “The arrest of Bishop Rolando José Álvarez—the Catholic Bishop of Matagalpa who was taken from his residence in an early morning raid on August 19—is just one of the latest manifestations of the Nicaraguan government’s ongoing campaign of repression a... Read more

In response to the recent dramatic build-up of sand in the Manasquan Inlet, Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today met with top officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review the results of its emergency survey conducted on Thursday at Smith’s request. “The Army Corps completed a sonar survey of the Inlet yesterday and reported that although there is some shoaling against the southern jetty, the channel is safe for boat traffic—including the larger commercial vessels,” said Rep. Smith... Read more

Rep. Smith (left) holds a telephone conference on Monday, August 15th with Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Brigantti of the Philadelphia District of the Army Corps of Engineers and Captain Howard Bogan (right) of the fishing vessel Jamaica from the docks of Bogan’s Basin in Brielle. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) announced today that the Army Corps of Engineers will return to the Manasquan Inlet next week to assess the large and potentially dangerous sandbar that has developed in the busy waterway af... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today released the following statement: “I strongly oppose and voted “no” on the insultingly-named “Inflation Reduction Act.” At a time when Americans are suffering the effects of a decades-high, crushing inflation—and as economic data show that the US has entered a recession—the timing and substance of the Democrats’ bill is an unmitigated economic disaster. Experts who have reviewed the legislation—including those at the Penn Wharton Budget Model and the nonpartisan Con... Read more

On Sunday night, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) joined Mark Levin on Fox News to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s egregious exploitation of tens of thousands of children in Africa to mine rare earth minerals—including cobalt and lithium—that are in high demand for batteries and solar panels to power the so-called “Green Economy.” Smith and Levin also discussed how the Biden Administration largely looks the other way when it comes to addressing human rights violations in the supply chain and relies... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today released the following statement on the sudden passing of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski and her two staff members, Emma Thomson and Zachery Potts: “We mourn the loss of our good friend, Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, who was indefatigable in standing up for the most vulnerable among us. The passion, courage, and love she brought to her work on behalf of unborn babies and their mothers set an example that will not be forgotten. We are also deeply saddened by the pas... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, recently joined Mark Levin on his radio show to expose how the Chinese Communist Party’s quest for cobalt for batteries and lithium for solar panels to power the so-called Green Economy drives extreme human rights abuses, as tens of thousands of children in Africa toil in mines under hazardous, life-threatening conditions. The topic was the focus of the hearing Smith chaired last month. Smith and Levin a... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, today issued the following statement on the recent report released by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on the state of religious persecution in North Korea: “North Korea's human rights abuses are almost without parallel—with horrific reports of up to 70,000 North Koreans currently in prison for their religious beliefs. “The new USCIRF report—based on painstaking interviews with survivors, wit... Read more

The so-called CHIPS Act championed by President Biden and passed by the House of Representatives this week blatantly ignores grave threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who voted against the legislative package in part for its failure to protect America’s manufacturing industry from the growing threat of China’s ambitions. “As China works to expand its power and steals American intellectual property, the United States must take bolder—not weaker—actio... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is pushing new legislation (HR 8382) to restore the Trump Administration’s effective Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)—widely known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy—to combat the worst border crisis in U.S. history. Under HR 8382, migrants apprehended at the border would be required to stay in Mexico as they await their application review by U.S. immigration officials. “President Biden’s disastrous border policies—including and especially his reversal of the Trump Admin... Read more