U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chairman of the Bipartisan Pro- Life Caucus, made the following statement today regarding President George W. Bush’s letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledging to veto any legislation that weakens current federal pro-life policy: Read more

In response to a recent, well-orchestrated campaign of political suppression and intimidation by the Government of Vietnam, the U.S. House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed a resolution authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) that calls for an immediate release of all political prisoners and substantial human rights reforms in Vietnam. Read more

May 1, 2007 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Pitts of Pennsylvania, for authoring this important resolution recognizing the abolishment of the inhumane, grossly immoral and ubiquitous British slave trade 200 years ago, and the highly principled member of the House of Commons, William Wilberforce, who poured his life into that noble cause. One man can--and did--make a difference. H. Res. 158 also links the abolition issue to today's modern-day slave trade, human ... Read more

May 1, 2007 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Vietnam has long been known as a major violator of human rights. The U.S. House of Representatives went on record in the 109th Congress condemning and deploring the violations of human rights in Vietnam and strongly urging the Vietnamese Government to consider the implications of its human rights abuses for the broader relationship between the United States and Vietnam. I point out parenthetically that t... Read more

Recent denials by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that women in Asia were coerced into sexual slavery by Imperial Japan during the war years perpetuate pain and sorrow among victims and their loved ones. As Mr. Abe represents the Japanese people to the world, his views also damage foreign perceptions of the great strides many Japanese have made as peaceful, responsible world citizens since 1946. As friends of Japan, we urge the Japanese people to courageously acknowledge and redress the wrongs perpetrated by Imperial Japan. Read more

Legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) that authorizes $98 million for specialized treatment for torture survivors living in the United States and abroad was overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives today. Read more

April 24, 2007 MR. SMITH of New Jersey: Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in very strong support of H. Con. Res. 7, and congratulate Congresswoman Jackson-Lee for authoring this important measure. It sends a very clear and nonambiguous message to the Arab League to recognize the killing fields of Darfur as ``genocide'' and to support the deployment of the hybrid U.N. peacekeeping force pursuant to U.N. Resolution 1706. It is timely that we consider t... Read more

A resolution authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) calling for substantial human rights reforms in Vietnam was overwhelming approved today by the House Foreign Affairs Committee during their first mark-up since Vietnam’s kangaroo court conviction of Father Nguyen Van Ly. Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chairman of the Bipartisan Pro- Life Caucus, made the following statement today after the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the federal ban on partial-birth abortion: Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today called Vietnam’s sentence of Catholic priest and pro-democracy activist Father Nguyen Van Ly “outrageous and appalling,” and called for the U.S. to immediately intervene to secure his freedom. “The conviction of Father Ly for merely exercising his fundamental human rights is outrageous and appalling, but it also is regrettably predictable. Vietnam claims that they have put an end to human rights abuses, but now the whole world can see that their reforms were ju... Read more