U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Pro-life Caucus today issued the following statement on the passing of Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL), a lifelong friend whom Smith served with in the House of Representatives for 26 years: Read more

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. First of all, let me thank Congressman King for offering this very important resolution, and my good friend and colleague, Chairman Lantos, for bringing this to the floor, as well as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who serves very admirably as the ranking member. This is a very important and very timely resolution. Chairman Lantos has been speaking out on behalf of Burma and human rights in Burma for years, and this today is another expression of our collective bipartisan support f... Read more

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very, very strong support of the Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act. I am very happy that it has finally been brought to the floor. It is legislation that will limit and condition U.S. Government assistance on the Ethiopian Government provided that the government meets a very modest list of human rights benchmarks and provides financial support to human rights promoters in Ethiopia. Mr. Speaker, the Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability A... Read more

SEPTEMBER 17, 2007 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me begin by thanking my good friend and colleague, Mr. Faleomavaega, for his leadership on human rights. We have worked together on those issues around the world. We have served on the Human Rights Committee for years, and he has been one of those champions with whom I am just so glad to associate myself. And I want to thank Mr. Lantos, the chairman of our committee, for bringing this bill to ... Read more

AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Amendment offered by Mr. Smith of New Jersey: At the end of title I, insert the following: Sec. 192. Out of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act to the SurfaceTransportation Board of the Department of Transportation, when considering cases, matters, or declaratory orders before the Board involving a railroad, or an entity claiming or... Read more

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Chair, two years ago the President signed the Stem Cell Research and Therapeutic Act into law. This bipartisan legislation is designed to turn medical waste to medical miracles by deriving stem cells from umbilical cords and placentas after the birth of a child. Cord blood transplantation is saving lives and is doing so today. It is one of the most promising and exciting fields in the area of regenerative medicine. The bipartisan legislation, Madam Chair, establis... Read more

Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) was presented the "Srebrenica 1995" award in recognition of his "efforts to promote truth and justice" in the wake of the atrocities in Bosnia and for his "contribution to the resistance against genocide in the world." Smith was selected for the award by mothers of the victims of the massacre in Srebrenica. More about the award is available here.The following is a statement Smith submitted to the Congressional Record to honor the lives of those los... Read more

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, someday future generations of Americans will look back on us and wonder how and why such a rich and seemingly enlightened society, so blessed and endowed with the capacity to protect and enhance vulnerable human life, could have instead so aggressively promoted death to children by abortion. They will note that we prided ourselves on our human rights rhetoric and record, while precluding virtually all protection to the most persecuted minority in the world ... Read more

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, having personally visited Uganda in April 2006, I chaired a hearing on the endangered children of northern Uganda for the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations. We heard from a number of witnesses and we raised it and continue to raise it with the administration. But one of our witnesses was a particularly noteworthy person, Grace Akallo. Grace is, or was, a child soldier, an abducted ... Read more

June 7, 2007 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, in early January, a team of scientists from Wake Forest University and Harvard Medical School announced a historic breakthrough: a new readily available source of life-saving stem cells derived exclusively from amniotic fluid. The Washington Post called these highly ethically derived pluripotent stem cells ``highly versatile and readily available.'' Newsweek said, ``A new era begins. Stem cells de... Read more