By Times of Trenton Editorial Board - In 2004, acknowledging an alarming increase in activities targeting Jews worldwide, the U.S. Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) co-wrote the bill. In addition to reviewing acts of anti-Semitism, and the response by governments, the measure also established a State Department office to monitor and combat these acts, to be headed by a special envoy. Since the administration of President George W. Bush, the...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-Chairman of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC), released the following statement on the passing of Liu Xiaobo. “It is an unspeakable tragedy that Liu Xiaobo’s unjust imprisonment in 2009 became a death sentence. The blame should lay squarely on the Chinese government, his death is truly an unwashable stain, the first Nobel Peace Prize winner to die in state custody since Carl Von Ossietzky died after being detained in a Nazi concentration camp. B...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House panel on Africa, called the decision by the Trump Administration to delay any easing of sanctions against Sudan well-justified and prudent—an important step towards helping the Sudanese people. The announcement, a delay of three months, is a response to the eleventh-hour Obama administration Executive Order 13761, delivered just days before he left office. The order would have gone into effect this week had the current administration not postponed t...
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(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP) By Emma Kinery , USA Today The House on Wednesday approved a sweeping reauthorization of the nation's most comprehensive law to combat human trafficking, in a rare bipartisan vote. The bill allocates $520 million over four years toward programs that aim to identify and aid victims of trafficking and prevent it from occurring. The bill — called the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act — was introduced by Rep. Chris ...
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The House of Representatives passed comprehensive legislation today authorizing more than half a billion dollars over four years to fight sex and labor trafficking in the United States and globally. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the author of the bill, said it is named in honor of the, “incomparable Frederick Douglass—a former slave who dedicated his life to abolishing slavery—on the eve of his 200th birthday. Human trafficking is modern day slavery.” Click Here to read the bill. According to Smith, ...
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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey… Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman ED ROYCE for yielding. I thank him for his leadership on trafficking, for this bill in particular, for the markup, and for all of the assistance he provided. I also thank ELIOT ENGEL, our ranking member. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I want to thank KAREN BASS, the lead Democrat on the bill, for her exceptional leadership and her collaboration on this legislation. I want to thank Speaker RYAN and Majority Leade...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House panel on global human rights, will be holding a hearing, entitled “The Tragic Case of Liu Xiaobo,” to examine the works of the great Chinese human rights leader, Liu Xiaobo, and bring light to his current plight. Last month, Liu’s cancer diagnosis was made public, however the Chinese government has refused to allow Liu to travel and seek care outside the country. “The world owes Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo a debt of gratitude because he demonstrates, ...
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An international parliamentary assembly of leading lawmakers from 56 countries today adopted a comprehensive resolution, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, to increase efforts to prevent child sex exploitation and prosecute the perpetrators. Smith, who authored America’s landmark law to combat sex and labor trafficking (the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000), is attending the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCEPA) along with 11 othe...
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At an annual parliamentary assembly held this week in Minsk, Belarus, North American and European lawmakers overwhelmingly adopted an amendment, authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), to increase coordination and enhance international efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Smith is the Co-Chair of the US Helsinki Commission, which leads American participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE-PA), which tackles a wide range of international issu...
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In a letter sent today, authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and signed by most of the New Jersey Delegation, to Secretary of the Department of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, New Jersey lawmakers expressed the need to delay any 2017 restrictions placed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) on the New Jersey fishing industry. The letter highlighted the overwhelmingly negative impact the new regulations would have on New Jersey shore communities. “A reduction of this magnitude wi...
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