By Josh Christenson Published December 22, 2025 WASHINGTON — The US Interior Department announced Monday that it was immediately pausing leases for five offshore wind farms — including two in New York — “due to national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.” The renewable energy projects included the Massachusetts and Rhode Island-headquartered Vineyard Wind 1 and Revolution Wind, a commercial wind farm in Virginia and New York’s Sunrise Win...
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By Matt Rooney Published December 22, 2025 This has been a long time in coming, Save Jerseyans. The negative impact of offshore wind development on tourism and marine life is well established. Back in early 2023, I wrote about the building body of evidence suggesting that giant, radar-confusing turbines off of the East Coast also posed a threat to navigation and national security. “Although the base of the tower is stationary, the nominal area of the turbine to the radar is dynamic since the mac...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), issued the below statement following a Hong Kong court’s unjust conviction of Jimmy Lai—the founder of newspaper Apple Daily and an outspoken advocate for democracy and free speech—on fraudulent, politically motivated national security and sedition charges: “Jimmy Lai’s ‘guilty’ verdict by a Hong Kong court—clearly orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party—is an affront to justice everywhere. Promotin...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, today welcomed the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun as the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. “I am glad to see that the U.S. Senate has finally confirmed Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun to serve as the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, who I am confident will be an extraordinarily effective and formidable force in the global fight against antisemitism...
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By Diana DiGangi Published December 19, 2025 The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed permitting reform legislation, the SPEED Act, with an amendment that prevents the bill from applying to offshore wind projects. The SPEED Act would amend the National Environmental Policy Act to ease and speed the permitting of energy projects. It introduces new deadlines for opposition to projects – opponents would have to make a claim against a project no later than 150 days after final agency act...
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By Elise Winland Published on December 19, 2025 Lawmakers in the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus welcomed new guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Dec. 18 that clarifies that leftover abortion-related funds collected under Obamacare cannot be redirected to support state-level abortion programs. The statement was released by the caucus’ co-chairs: Republican Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Andy Harris of Maryland, Bob Onder of Missouri, Michelle Fischbach of Minnes...
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Today, the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus—Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ), Andy Harris (R-MD), Bob Onder (R-MO), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), and Kat Cammack (R-FL)—issued the following statement after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on the use of segregated funds, obtained in accordance with Section 1303 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA): “We applaud CMS’s clear guidance that leftover money collected by qualified hea...
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During debate on HR 4776, the SPEED Act, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted Amendment #4, offered by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) and cosponsored by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), which is absolutely critical for preserving the Trump administration’s ability to continue its much-need reviews of ocean wind projects off of the Atlantic Coast due to overwhelming safety and national defense concerns. The amendment was drafted following a December 5th letter to President Trump,...
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By Lakewood Alerts Published December 17, 2025 Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chair of the Congressional Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Caucus, joined U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday for a roundtable discussion focused on advancing diagnostics, treatment options, and long-term care for Lyme disease patients. The discussion, convened by Kennedy at HHS, brought together senior federal officials, lawmakers, medical experts, and patients. Participa...
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Rep. Chris Smith and Sec. Kennedy at the HHS' Lyme Disease Roundtable on December 15, 2025. Yesterday, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Caucus, joined U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a “game changing” discussion about new and improved diagnostics, therapeutics, and prognoses for Lyme disease patients. The HHS’ Lyme Disease Roundtable discussion, convened by Sec. Kennedy, was also attended by...
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