Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) noted with concern the findings of the 2013 Annual Report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which is required by Congress to evaluate religious freedom conditions and offer recommendations on protection of religious freedom in countries where abuses are severe. “This year’s report shows that, at the very least, the United States must do more to ensure that countries receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. assistance are ... Read more

One of the leading autism groups in the world will honor Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04)—the author of key enacted laws to combat autism and co-Chairman of the Congressional Coalition on Autism Research and Education (C.A.R.E.)—at a event tonight sponsored by Autism Speaks in the nation’s capital. “The toll of autism in terms of its impact on the life of a child and a family is tremendous,” said Smith, author of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act, Public Law 112-32, signed into law in Sept... Read more

Yesterday Judge Ben Stephens ordered the British Government to disclose to the court documents related to the government’s decision to deny a promised public judicial inquiry into government collusion in the 1989 murder in Northern Ireland of human rights attorney Patrick Finucane. In response to the order, the Congressional Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs and the Congressional Friends of Ireland release the following statement: “Judge Stephens’ order yesterday demonstrates that the British go... Read more

Congress and the U.S. administration should act to prevent dictators from using U.S. technology for surveillance, tracking and repression of human rights and pro-democracy leaders, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing today. Smith is the author of the Global Online Freedom Act of 2013 (GOFA) H.R. 491 that addresses this fundamental threat to democracy activists in repressive countries by ensuring greater corporate accountability and greater scrutiny of ... Read more

The international threat of drug-resistant diseases around the world was the sobering topic today of head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who testified at a congressional hearing of the House global health panel chaired by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04). “In the last 10 years, these drug-resistant diseases have been identified in patients in more than 200 hospitals in 42 states in this country. Over that period, their prevalence rate has increased from one percent of patients... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), a leading human rights lawmaker in the U.S. Congress, was the keynote speaker today at the “Consultation on Conscience,” hosted by the 1.5 million member Union for Reform Judaism, and the 2,000 rabbis of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, at the largest Jewish public policy conference focusing on both international and domestic issues of concern to the American Jewish community. Smith, co-chair of the Bi-Partisan Anti-Semitism Task Force and co-chair of t... Read more

The international threat of drug-resistant diseases around the world will be the topic of a congressional hearing of the House global health panel chaired by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04). The head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the chief U.S. government office tasked with addressing health threats and policy, will testify. “Meeting the Challenge of Drug-Resistant Diseases in Developing Countries,” is the topic of a congressional hearing to be held by the Subcommittee on Af... Read more

As the completion and release of the U.S. State Department’s 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) draws near, efforts by Watch List governments to fight the modern day slavery of human trafficking were the topic of a hearing held today by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House panel that oversees global human rights. In particular the status of Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Republic of Congo, which each must, under U.S. law, be moved off the Tier 2 Watch List in t... Read more

Among several meetings in his Washington office today, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) met with members of the New Jersey American Bar Association (ABA). The members presented and discussed a number of issues with Smith, including his leadership on human trafficking and international child abduction, as well as funding for the judiciary system, filling judicial vacancies, access to legal services, and the importance of the rule of law. The group is in Washington for ABA Day 2013, an event arran... Read more

A hard look at efforts of the governments of China and Russia to fight human trafficking in their countries, and whether they should be demoted to Tier 3 in the State Department’s 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), will be the topic of a hearing to be held Thursday by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees Africa and international human rights. Russia and China, along with Uzbekistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Congo, must, by U... Read more