U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), a leading human rights advocate in the U.S. Congress, has made a formal request of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State of Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson to personally intervene in the case of American Jacob Ostreicher, who has been held without formal charges in Bolivia since June 2011. The Assistant Secretary is in Cochabamba, Bolivia for a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly taking place from June 3-5. Smith was asked ... Read more

On this day 25 years ago, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the “New GI Bill Continuation Act” (Public Law 100-48). This law expanded the initial Montgomery GI Bill pilot program and, with it, our nation’s strong history of ensuring those who fight in defense of our freedom have access to career-enhancing, educational benefits. “As Americans welcome home a new generation of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, we remain in awe of their bravery and are humbled by their selfless sacrifice,” s... Read more

A significant majority (246 to 168) in the House of Representatives today voted for legislation to establish a federal ban on sex-selection abortion. H.R. 3541, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), authored by Rep. Trent Franks (AZ-02) was considered by the House under a suspension, which requires a two-thirds majority vote for passage. “Today a majority of the House voted to protect little girls from the violence of sex-selection abortion,” said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Co-chair... Read more

"Last year, an undercover video-taped sting operation by Live Action (liveaction.org) exposed several Planned Parenthood affiliates who were eager, ready and willing to facilitate secret abortions for underage sex trafficking victims—some as young or younger than 14— to get them on the streets again," said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) on the floor of the House today. "As the prime sponsor of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, I found the on-the-record willingness of Planned Parenthood pe... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (Robbinsville, NJ-04) met with John Sturtevant of Ocean Township , N.J., the “Alzheimer’s Ambassador” for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater New Jersey Chapter, and Ashley Santillo, of Spring Lake, N.J. Friday to discuss the first-ever comprehensive National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Smith coauthored the law that mandated the plan with Congressman Edward J. Markey (MA-07), wh... Read more

Local elected officials in Lakewood today said that they had a productive and encouraging meeting discussing plans on how to jointly move forward to assist the struggling school district and improve educational opportunities for all Lakewood students. “Our working partnership shares one, overarching goal: improving educational opportunities for all Lakewood school children,” said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) “I am encouraged by the valuable, useful exchange of ideas and look forward to assist... Read more

U.S. Representative Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the arrival of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng at Newark Liberty Airport in the United States: "After years of enduring physical and psychological torture, imprisonment, and hate, the man, Chen Guangcheng, who defended Chinese women from the crime of forced abortion is finally free," said Smith... Read more

Earlier today the House of Representatives passed the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA/ HR 4310) and advanced a $47 million project championed by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) that will protect and enhance critical Joint Base missions. The NDAA contains funding for a new state-of-the-art Army aviation facility that will house the Communications and Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Flight Activity (CFA) on the former Lakehurst Naval Air Enginee... Read more

The first-ever comprehensive National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease was released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the culmination of bipartisan work by Cong. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and Cong. Edward J. Markey (MA-07), co-Chairmen of the Congressional Taskforce on Alzheimer’s, to create of a national plan to address the devastating disease. The plan includes the bold national goal of preventing or treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025 and represents an histori... Read more

Today the Department of the Army and the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) will sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that transfers the former-Fort Monmouth property to the local authorities for reuse and economic development. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) —who worked directly with FMERA and intervened with Secretary of the Army John McHugh to help expedite and finalize this critical agreement—issued the following statement: "For 90 years, Fort Monmouth stood at the forefront ... Read more