Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), chair of the House Subcommittee on Global Human Rights, issued the following statement on the court order for the release of Igor Bitkov: "I welcome the news that a court in Guatemala on Friday ordered Igor Bitkov released, sentencing him to time served. I fully expect that the release of his wife and daughter, Irina and Anastasia, will likewise be forthcoming. "That said, the original prosecution and jailing of the Bitkovs — orchestrated by the Russian government in col... Read more

Chris Smith, a Republican, represents New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mihrigul Tursun said she pleaded with God to end her life as her Chinese jailers increased the electrical currents coursing through her body. Tursun, a Muslim Uighur whose escape led her to the United States in September, broke down weeping at a Nov. 28 congressional hearing as she recounted her experience in one of China’s infamous political “ re-education centers. ” It is an appalling story but one that is ... Read more

Amid fresh reports that charitable giving could drop precipitously for 2018 because of the changes to the tax law, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is calling attention to a bipartisan remedy he proposed this year and will reintroduce at the beginning of the 116th Congress. Smith’s Charitable Giving Tax Deduction Act would allow taxpayers to write off charitable donations to organizations that volunteer and assist those in need, whether or not they choose to itemize on their taxes. “Charitable organizati... Read more

By Johathan Salant of the Star Ledger/NJ.com In the closing days of the 115th Congress, as lawmakers prepared to go home for Christmas, they passed dozens of bills as final deals were cut and language was tweaked to ensure passage. Even as he negotiated with congressional leaders over legislation to keep parts of the federal government open past Friday, President Donald Trump affixed pen to paper and signed several measures into law. While talks broke down and the parts of the government closed ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) bill authorizing $430 million over four years for a comprehensive whole-of-government effort to fight sex and labor trafficking at home and abroad cleared Congress today, marking his fifth comprehensive anti-human trafficking bill to become law. Smith is the author of America’s first human trafficking bill, the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which he has reauthorized and/or enhanced through his subsequent legislation. The original TVPA, enacted in 2... Read more

Rep. Christopher Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement with regard to presidential and national assembly elections to be held in Nigeria on February 16, 2019, and ongoing violence largely attributable to Fulani extremists: “I am very concerned by the current trajectory in Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy and economy, and President Muhamadu Buhari’s apparent crackdown on non-violent protests and harassment of opposition leaders, suc... Read more

Rep. Christopher Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement with regard to a delay in elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo that had been scheduled for Sunday, December 23: “I find the postponement of elections—attributed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s electoral commission, or CENI, to ‘technical’ difficulties—to be utterly disingenuous. Responsibility rests with Joseph Kabila and his government, which have already delay... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, released the following statement on the impending verdict in the trial of Igor Bitkov in Guatemala: “In April of this year, we learned about the plight of... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, delivered excerpts of the following remarks at a Subcommittee hearing he chaired on "Nigeria At a Crossroads: The Upcoming Election" on Thursday, Dec. 13: Today’s hearing will come to order. I would like to thank both of our very distinguished witnesses, Ambassador Tibor Nagy and Ramsay Day, for doing double duty two days straight. You were h... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) legislation to ensure ISIS genocide victims in Iraq and Syria receive humanitarian relief and hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes was signed into law by the President today. “When genocide or other atrocity crimes are perpetrated, the United States should direct humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery aid to enable these groups to survive–especially when they are minorities whose existence as a people is at-risk,” Smith stated. “My law would codify this... Read more