Rep. Smith (NJ-04), an advocate for the prevention of Lyme disease for more than two decades, took to the House floor in support of 21st Century Cures Act today with the following statement: I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his extraordinary leadership on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, in 1992, 24 years ago, I met—along with a great advocate, Pat Smith—with top officials of NIH and CDC on Federal guidelines that precluded the existence of chronic Lyme disease. Subsequently, every Congr... Read more

Today, Rep. Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on International Organizations and Human Rights, delivered the following speech denouncing funding to Iran to the U.S. House of Representatives: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5711, the No U.S. Financing for Iran Act, introduced by my good friend BILL HUIZENGA. This bill also includes the outstanding work of my good friend PETER ROSKAM, who introduced H.R. 5715, the No Ex-Im Assistance for Terrorism Ac... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations spoke on the floor in support of H.R. 6297, the Iran Sanctions Extension Act: Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chair for his sponsorship of the Iran Sanctions Extension Act, H.R. 6297. This is a must-pass measure that would extend for 10 years the Iran Sanctions Act, a critical set of sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector that would otherwise expire... Read more

Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), took to the floor today to speak in support of H. Res. 780: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey… Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend and colleague, the distinguished chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. ROYCE; Ranking Member ELIOT ENGEL; and Ms. BASS, who is the ranking member on the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee, for their strong support for this legislation, ... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) delivered the following remarks during the debate in the House of Representatives on the motion to override President Obama’s veto of the Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA): Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the President of the United States, the central argument in his veto message accompanying the Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)—reciprocity—is weak, unsupported and egregiously flawed. The White House drafters of the veto messa... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, delivered the following remarks to the U.S. House of Representatives: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Friday September 30 marks 40 years since the life-saving Hyde Amendment was first enacted. This annual appropriations amendment stops taxpayer dollars from being used to fund most abortions and abortion coverage through government programs like Medicaid. (Click here to read Mr. Smith on the Congressional Re... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), former Chairman of the House Veteran's Affairs Committee, provided the following remarks on the House Floor today: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark Suicide Prevention Month and to join with my colleagues in helping to raise awareness of—and combat—the staggering rate of suicide among our veteran population. The men and women of our military make tremendous, selfless sacrifices on behalf of each and every American. As a result, many veterans return from service with phy... Read more

With 9/11 victim's families looking on, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) delivered the following remarks on the House Floor today: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey… Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman GOODLATTE for his extraordinary work on this legislation, Mr. CONYERS, and, of course, PETER KING who has been absolutely tenacious picking up the good work that Dan Lungren, a former member of Congress and Attorney General of California, had done on this legislation previously. This is a bipartisan piece of... Read more

Excerpts from Congressman Chris Smith's (NJ-04), Chairman of a House panel on Human Rights, Statement on the House Floor: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey… Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce H.R. 5961, the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2016. Since ISIS’ blitzkrieg across the multiethnic and religiously diverse mosaic of eastern Syria and western Iraq in 2014, I have chaired four hearings focused on the implications of this appalling advance for religious and ethnic minoriti... Read more

Rep Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the China Commission, provided the following remarks: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey… Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished chairman for yielding and for his leadership on this issue and Ranking Member ENGEL, and especially thank Chairman SALMON for authoring this important piece of legislation. North Korea, as we know, poses an existential threat to its neighbors and requires constant vigilance and close cooperation of regional allies. The alliance between... Read more