New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith is helping mark Autism Awareness Month around the state. A recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that 1 in every 49 children in the Garden State have some form of autism, making it the second highest rate in the country. Smith recently authored three bills, including the Combating Autism Act. The measure would provide over $693 million over three years to combat this developmental disorder. Click here to watch the video. This item w... Read more

The widely reported escape of well-known blind Chinese human rights defender Chen Guangcheng from illegal home confinement is being closely followed by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China and other human rights organizations around the world, said Commission Chairman Chris Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “I’m relieved to hear the reported news of human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng’s escape from extended illegal home confinement,” said Commission... Read more

The fragile and deteriorating state of affairs between the nations of Sudan and South Sudan was the focus of a hearing Thursday held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights and African issues. Testifying were senior officials from the U.S. State Department. “As we meet here today, the two countries move ever closer to all-out war, and some strategy to avert this eventuality must be devised soon if it is not created al... Read more

The Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting in The Hague rendered a “clear and just verdict” today in the case of notorious human rights offender Charles Taylor, said Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights. After a trial lasting five years, the Court found former warlord and Liberian President Charles Taylor guilty of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, ranging from terrorist acts to rape to enslavement to murder. Ta... Read more

A congressional briefing arranged by Congressmen Chris Smith (NJ-04) and Mike Doyle (PA-14), the Co-Chairmen of the Congressional Coalition on Autism Research and Education (C.A.R.E.), laid out new, sobering figures for the costs of autism on the U.S. and international health care systems Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Andy Shih, Ph.D., Vice-President of Scientific Affairs for Autism Speaks, the advocacy group that funded the research, discussed the national and per capita costs of autism. “The costs ... Read more

Congressman Christopher Smith, of Robbinsville, N.J., recently met with students from the Bais Tova and Bais Rochel schools from Lakewood Township, Ocean County, N.J. Following a tour of the Capitol Building and House complex, Smith spoke to the groups on the steps of the Capitol Building. They discussed current events, including national and international issues. Smith, a senior member of Congress, represents large parts of Ocean County, as well as large areas of Mercer, Burlington and Monmouth... Read more

“The U.S. Justice Department should immediately petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review a legal challenge to the 2003 federal law that prevents international groups that promote and enable prostitution and sex trafficking from receiving HIV/AIDS funding,” said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights and global health issues. Twenty-four House Members signed a letter calling on U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli to ... Read more

In the ensuing weeks since Don Payne’s untimely passing, I—along with all who knew and deeply respected him—keep expecting to hear his gentle voice admonishing us to care more and to do more for those trapped in poverty or suffering from devastating disease. (click here to watch the CSPAN video of Smith's remarks) Donald Payne was an extraordinary man who dedicated his entire life to public service; a man who made a significant difference in the world, in his constituency in New Jersey. All—many... Read more

With an estimated 4.5 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and 15 million expected to be diagnosed over the coming decades, today a bipartisan group of members of Congress introduced a resolution affirming the national goal of treating Alzheimer’s by 2025. Led by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Michael Burgess (R-Texas), the members declared their support for the goal set forward by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Advisory ... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (Robbinsville, NJ) spoke at a ribbon-cutting for the newly-renovated Ocean Health Initiatives, Inc., a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), on 2nd Street in Lakewood, Ocean County, N.J. Smith helped the facility, which served over 23,700 patients in 2011, obtain its FQHC designation in order to meet area health care needs of the town of 93,000 residents, seventh largest in New Jersey. Smith spoke to the crowd at the ceremony, then later toured the facility, speaking ... Read more