The Chinese Government was downgraded by the U.S. Department of State today and designated as one of the worst offenders in the world in combating human trafficking—joining North Korea, Syria, Zimbabwe and Iran. “China has become the sex and labor trafficking capital of the world,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), the prime author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA—Public Law 106-386) that, among its numerous provisions, authorized the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Per... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) gave the following remarks during House floor debate today of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act: Pain. We all dread it. Avoid it. Even fear it. And we all go to extraordinary lengths to mitigate its severity and duration. There are Kermit Gosnells all over America today inflicting not only violence, cruelty and death on very young children—but excruciating pain as well. Many Americans—including some who self-identify as pro-choice— were shocked and dismayed by... Read more

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $2.3 million for the Borough of Avon-by-the- Sea to help recover from the destruction of Superstorm Sandy, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), whose district includes hard-hit areas of Ocean and Monmouth counties. “Avon is depending on FEMA assistance to stay financially sound and get back on its feet,” said Smith, who repeatedly went to the House floor to push for a total of $60.4 billion in emergency disaster aid to fund the National ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith, the Republican lead on the National Alzheimer’s Project Act or NAPA (PL 111-375) that required comprehensive annual plans to prevent and successfully treat the Alzheimer’s disease by 2025, today praised the release of the second National Plan. As House co-chairs of the Bipartisan, Bicameral Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, Reps. Smith and Markey shepherded NAPA into law in 2011. The law required the development of a national plan to engage and coordinate governm... Read more

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $2.6 million for the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach to help the town recover from the destruction of Superstorm Sandy, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), whose district includes hard-hit areas of Ocean and Monmouth counties. “This FEMA assistance is sorely needed to help the borough stay fiscally sound after the greatest Jersey Shore disaster in our lifetime,” said Smith, who earlier this year repeatedly took to the House floor to pus... Read more

By Shaun Tandon (AFP) - The leaders of the United States and China appear to have started off on friendly terms during a weekend together in the California sun, but it remains to be seen if good vibes can bridge deep gaps. At the aptly named Sunnylands retreat, President Barack Obama gave his counterpart Xi Jinping a redwood bench as a gift, and the leaders of the rising and established powers took a 50-minute stroll with only their interpreters. The two sides had billed the casual summit as a w... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, (N.J.-04), Special Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly on Human Trafficking Issues, Co-Chairman of the United States Helsinki Commission and co-chairman of the House Human Trafficking Caucus, addressed an international conference on human trafficking today: In January of 2000, I received actionable information that eight Ukrainian women were being exploited by sex traffickers in two bars in Montenegro. The... Read more

Sponsors of the world-famous Dakar Rally should request the release of American businessman Jacob Ostreicher—who has been unlawfully detained in Bolivia for two years—or insist that the 2014 Rally exclude Bolivia from its planned route, said U.S. Representative Chris Smith (NJ-04), who together with other members of Congress is seeking Ostreicher’s release. “Both for the sake of justice and in the interest of ensuring the security of the Dakar Rally participants and spectators, we are respectful... Read more

On the MSNBC show Andrea Mitchell Reports today, Congressman Chris Smith said that President Obama should substantively discuss human rights abuses in China with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California Friday and Saturday during their planned meetings to discuss economic and security issues. "As the entire world observed the grim anniversary earlier this week of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre of 1989, the timing could not be better to raise the issue of human rights abuses in Chin... Read more

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House human rights subcommittee, took to the House floor today to call on the U.S. Administration to cease its indifference to widespread human rights abuses in China, even as President Obama prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow. "Tomorrow, President Obama will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California to discuss security and economic issues," said Smith co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commissio... Read more