By Mike Davis of the Asbury Park Press U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., was sanctioned by the Chinese government on Monday in a retaliatory move, after the U.S. placed sanctions on Chinese leaders over human rights abuses. The sanctions filed against Smith, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom, bars them from the country, Chinese foreign affairs ministry spokeswoman Hua Chungying said Monday. She did not p... Read more

By TAPINTO HAMILTON/ROBBINSVILLE STAFF July 10, 2020 at 4:36 PM Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-4) announced on Thursday that Robbinsville firefighters will receive new essential personal protection equipment (PPE) needed to protect the public under a federal grant in place during the ongoing coronavirus emergency. Smith said the more than $13,000 in federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) “will help pay for masks, protective gowns and suits for first resp... Read more

Robbinsville firefighters will receive a modest but critical federal grant to be used to purchase essential personal protection equipment (PPE) needed to protect the public—and public servants—during the ongoing coronavirus emergency, said Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) today. The more than $13,000 in federal funding “will help pay for masks, protective gowns and suits for first responders operating in COVID-19 safety practices,” he said. The money comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Econ... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), who has been working to help alleviate the threat of lead in drinking water for Trenton Water Works (TWW) customers in Mercer County, supported an amendment on the House floor July 1 to significantly increase funding authorized for the federal Lead Reduction Grant Program to $4.5 billion annually for the next five years. “Clean drinking water is the most basic of necessities,” Smith said. “It is the responsibility of the local, State and federal officials to do ev... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), a longtime leader on human rights issues in Congress, today condemned as “genocide” efforts by the Chinese Communist government to forcibly suppress the birth rates of ethnic minority populations on Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) through forced sterilizations, abortions, and detention. Smith also renewed his call for the International Olympic Committee to remove the 2022 Winter Olympics from China and urged the U.S. Olympic Committee to convey its conde... Read more

At a congressional hearing today, Rep Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act said “the great people of Hong Kong had a sweeping, draconian, anti-democracy policy imposed upon them yesterday—the so-called National Security Law.” Smith said, “President Xi Jinping has today massively broken his government’s solemn promise embedded in the Basic Law and in an internationally recognized treaty—the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration—to respect the human rights of th... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) welcomed today’s United States Supreme Court ruling in USAID v. Alliance for Open Society upholding a key amendment he wrote in 2003 to the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act that provides federal funding to foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provided they have a policy explicitly opposing sex trafficking and prostitution. Smith said, “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a major victory in the struggle against HIV, for human ... Read more

In response to Secretary Mike Pompeo actions today to impose restrictions on Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for the severe crackdown on the free people of Hong Kong, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Ranking Member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said the following: “I welcome Secretary Mike Pompeo’s announcement today that the Trump Administration is sanctioning Chinese Communist Party officials responsible... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) joined Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Presidential Advisor Ivanka Trump, and U.S. anti-trafficking ambassador John Richmond today at the State Department for the release of the 20th annual “Trafficking in Persons” or TIP Report mandated by Smith’s groundbreaking human trafficking law enacted in 2000 “The TIP Report is a key component of our nation’s robust efforts to combat human trafficking which ruins childhoods, leaves victims scarred for a lifetime and enriches hu... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) gave the following statement in the House of Representatives on June 25, 2020: Madame Speaker, the JUSTICE Act is designed to ensure greater transparency and accountability in policing in order to build safer communities. I cosponsored the JUSTICE Act because it is a serious, comprehensive and balanced reform initiative—an important step forward. I am deeply grateful to Senator Tim Scott and Congressman Pete Stauber for authoring this bicameral legislation. The killing of... Read more