Comprehensive legislation cosponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)—the bipartisan Stop Illegal Fishing Act (HR 6338)—was today approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee during their markup session and is now headed to the full House for its consideration. The bill, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), would impose sanctions upon foreign vessels or individuals that engage in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing). During the markup, Smith—who, in 2023, chaired a Congr... Read more

After the Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, issued the following statement on behalf of pro-life pregnancy centers that have been unjustly targeted by the state of New Jersey: Rep. Smith, Dean of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, said, “Pregnancy care centers are an oasis of love and support for mothers and their precious children—according to a recent report,... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and four additional comprehensive laws to combat human trafficking, issued the below statement following the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (HR 4323): “HR 4323—legislation I have cosponsored—provides a critical pathway for vacating or expunging certain non-violent criminal convictions for offenses that trafficking victims—mostly women and children—wer... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Diana Harshbarger, Pharm.D. (R-TN), and more than 170 Republican lawmakers, including the entirety of House GOP leadership, released a new letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Martin Makary, MD, urging a robust FDA investigation and review of the safety standards and health risks associated with the popular chemical abortion pill, mifepristone. The November 20th le... Read more

Earlier this week, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in response to widespread concerns about potential electoral fraud or manipulation in Honduras’ upcoming presidential election. In the letter dated November 10th, Smith urged the top U.S. officials to publicly communicate that a productive and beneficial U.S.... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, introduced new legislation commending President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” and outlining the course of action the U.S. Department of State should follow in response to the Nigerian government’s complicity in the religious persecution of Christians. Smith’s new bill, H.Res.860, is cosponsored by Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Maria El... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the author of legislation (H.Res.220) calling upon the President to designate Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” applauded President Trump for taking such action today and admonishing the Nigerian government’s inability to address and combat widespread religious persecution of Christians in the region. “President Trump’s decisive action is a powerful step forward in holding the Nigerian government accountable for its complicity in the unchecked murder, rape, and... Read more

In an October 29th letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, two U.S. lawmakers known for combating human rights abuses in China urged U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer to allow the case against Cisco Systems, Inc. to proceed and determine whether the giant U.S. tech firm custom-designed a tool to aid the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a systematic persecution of Falun Gong religious believers. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) speaks at an anti-human trafficking press conference, alongside now-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, in 2014. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a senior lawmaker and tireless advocate in the global fight against human trafficking, commemorated the 25th anniversary of the enactment of his Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)—landmark legislation to confront the global scourge of human trafficking—and called upon the U.S. House of Representatives to immediat... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) has co-sponsored legislation—the Keep SNAP Funded Act of 2025 (HR 5822)—to appropriate unallocated federal funds to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) during the current shutdown. “I, alongside many of my Republican colleagues in the House—including Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean—voted to keep the government up and running so that we could avoid the potentially tragic outcomes posed by unnecessary go... Read more