At a Capitol Hill hearing yesterday, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, denounced the deteriorating state of civil and political freedoms in Hong Kong. Joined by a panel of five distinguished witnesses, Smith demanded accountability for Hong Kong officials beholden to Communist China for their crackdown on civil liberties. Click here or on the below image to watch the hearing. The hearing was held on the eve of the second anniversary of the passage i... Read more

Legislation supported by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to forgive federal Community Disaster Loans (CDL) for New Jersey towns devastated by Superstorm Sandy—including an estimated $8 million in loans for municipalities in Smith’s district in Monmouth and Ocean counties—passed the House of Representatives and was signed into law late last week as part of a stopgap measure to avoid a government shutdown. “The historic devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy required us to do everything to rebuild, inclu... Read more

WASHINGTON – Joined by left-behind parents who have been separated from their children for years, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) urged the State Department to take bolder action to help bring home American children abducted overseas and implement stronger tools—including sanctions—provided by the Sean and David Goldman Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act at a hearing on Capitol Hill today. Much of the attention focused on Japan—where many American military personnel are stationed—which has a pat... Read more

Today, on United Nations’ World Tourism Day, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), an international leader in the fight against human trafficking, said that nations can both “recognize tourism’s significant contributions to the world economy, but must also work hard to combat and end international sex tourism to protect those who are most vulnerable—especially children—from exploitation." "We can—we must—do both," said Rep. Smith, author of International Megan’s Law to combat child sex tourism and four addi... Read more

The House of Representatives this week passed an amendment offered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) directing the federal government’s “watchdog” agency to investigate the Department of Defense’s (DOD) possible weaponization of ticks and other insects with Lyme disease during its consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (H.R. 4350). “In the spirit of transparency and accountability, my amendment directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to probe whether th... Read more

The deadline for students in the Fourth Congressional District to apply for a congressional nomination to attend a United States service academy—as a member of the class of 2026—is Friday, October 8th, announced Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today. “Throughout my tenure in Congress, I've had the honor and privilege of nominating more than 1,000 outstanding students for acceptance into one of our service academies,” said Rep. Smith, who has authored more than a dozen laws for those who have served in ... Read more

The Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey presented Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) with their 2021 Legislator of the Year Award at their annual Officers Installation Dinner held last night in Mercer County. The association of leaders from across the state includes county clerks, sheriffs and surrgoates—the three county-wide elected officials whose offices are prescribed by the New Jersey State Constitution—under the leadership of outgoing President Paula Sollami Covello, Mercer County cler... Read more

The National Police Defense Foundation today awarded Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) with their 2021 Legislator of the Year Award, citing Smith’s “outstanding legislative support on behalf of law enforcement” and his tireless efforts and success in authoring laws to combat crime in the United States and around the world. The nationally renowned non-profit dedicated to serving the law enforcement community has over 210,000 members and supporters nationwide. “It is with great pride to inform you that you... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, today issued the following statement on recent developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) impacting the fairness of elections, civil society and the Church – the Catholic Church in particular: “I am extremely concerned by steps taken by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his parliamentary allies to neuter the Independent Nationa... Read more

During a press conference held this week via Zoom the New Jersey Statewide Independent living Council (NJSILC) announce its support of two pieces of federal legislation introduced in August, The Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion for Disasters (REAADI) Act and the Disaster Relief Medicaid Act (DRMA). These two historic pieces of disability and disaster legislation that will dismantle barriers faced by disaster-impacted people with disabilities, older adults, people with acc... Read more