Below is a transcript of Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)’s video remarks delivered to the Alzheimer’s Community Forum hosted by Alzheimer’s Association Greater New Jersey Chapter at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, NJ, on January 29: The House is in session today, precluding me from joining this important forum sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association Greater New Jersey Chapter. I appreciate the invite. Special thanks to the Alzheimer’s Association for galvanizing a nation—and world—to confront thi... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the following statement on Friday, January 25: I welcome the President’s announcement. We need to immediately restore essential government functions—which I have repeatedly voted to do in recent weeks—while allowing more time to negotiate for funding to secure our border, which I voted for in December. In 2006, I and other members from both parties in Congress—including then-Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton—voted for the Secure Fence Act to authorize a phy... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today announced that the residents of Bradley Beach and Avon-by-the-Sea are once again seeing their mail delivered out of their local post offices beginning this week. Smith, who has pushed to restore basic delivery services to the towns’ residents, thanked the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for identifying solutions for those who have suffered extensive delays and other delivery mishaps after the USPS consolidated operations in the area. “Starting this week, U.S. mail will o... Read more

Rep Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the following statement on the passing of Bishop Emeritus John M. Smith of Trenton: "Bishop Smith was a man of deep faith, kindness, and an amazing leader of our diocese. He had an incredible sense of humor. “Like so many others, my wife Marie and I were both encouraged and challenged by his homilies and exhortations to faithfully know, love, and serve God at home and in the public square. “With clarity and gentleness, he defended the weakest and most vulnerable inc... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), immediate past chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement on Monday on a constitutional court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ruling that Felix Tshisekedi is the victor in the recent election: “Unfortunately, calls for a free and fair election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have gone unheeded by the regime of Joseph Kabila. Independent observers have provided sufficient evidence to show that Martin Fayulu won the e... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), immediate past co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, together with Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), today reintroduced bipartisan legislation—HR 649—that would provide policymakers with new tools and information to address the egregious human rights abuses committed by Chinese Communist Party officials and local authorities in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Over a million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim ethnic minorities in the region have be... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is to remedy a flaw in the 2018 tax law that is expected to result in a significant decline in charitable donations and leave many unable to meet the humanitarian needs that they have supported for decades. “Many Americans want to give generously to charities, but they may not be able to afford to do so now with the changes implemented in the 2018 tax law,” Smith said. “My legislation would fix this problem, protecting taxpayers while encouraging continued support to char... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), immediate past chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement after a Tuesday attack on a hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya, killed at least 14: “I am saddened and appalled by yesterday’s terror attack on civilians in Nairobi, Kenya. Among the reported victims are one American citizen and two Somali staff members of the United States Agency for International Development. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. The Islamist group a... Read more

The House on Friday voted overwhelmingly to pass Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) legislation calling for a swift appointment of a new Anti-Semitism Special Envoy at the State Department and strengthening the position—created by Smith’s legislative provisions in 2004—to more adequately deal with a rise in anti-Semitism worldwide. “Over the past decade, there has been a rapid rise in anti-Semitic acts and rhetoric in many countries: Jews harassed, assaulted and even murdered; synagogues attacked; graves... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of five comprehensive laws to fight human trafficking, issued the following statement on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day: “On National Human Trafficking Awareness Day—and during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month—I call on Congress, the State Department, and all citizens to redouble efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking once and for all. Evil thrives in the shadows—we must bring to light the prevalence of this multi-bi... Read more