National Missing Children’ Day, established by President Reagan in 1983 and marked every May 25th since, encourages the nation to remember children who have gone missing and work to help parents, guardians, caregivers an organizations dedicated to the well-being of children. To that end, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today announced that they will be reintroducing legislation designed to protect children with developmental disabilities, such as autism, who are p...
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Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), former Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, delivered the following statement on the House floor: Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express my strong support for the significant package of the veteran’s bills that we considered in the House both yesterday and today. As the former Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (2001 through 2005), I am acutely aware of the challenges our veterans face, especially as they transition f...
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Next Thursday, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House panel on global human rights, will be chairing a hearing entitled “Vietnam: Why Religious Freedom and Human Rights are Critical to U.S. National Interests.” The hearing will provide insight on the current human rights situation in Vietnam and serve as an additional pillar of information prior to the visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. “The Vietnamese Communist government severely restricts religious freedom and the ...
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Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House panel on human rights, delivered the following address on the House Floor: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, lawyer Xie Yang was tortured for the better part of two years because he dared to represent China’s poor and persecuted. The account of his detention is both harrowing and horrible. Xie Yang was sleep deprived and kept in isolation. Squads of police punched and kicked him for hours at a time. He was forced to sit still for hours on a pre...
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By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON -- A U.S. congressman told attendees at a Washington summit on Christian persecution that "more than ever before, vigorous U.S. leadership and diplomacy are needed to address religious freedom violations globally." "Religious persecution is festering and exploding around the world. What has been unconscionable for decades, centuries, has gotten worse," Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, said May 12 in remarks at the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christian...
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By David Levinsky, BCT staff writer - The first KC-46 air-refueling tankers aren't due to arrive at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst until 2020, but members of New Jersey's congressional delegation are already mobilizing to get the base ready. U.S. Reps. Tom MacArthur, Chris Smith, Frank LoBiondo and Donald Norcross teamed on a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Wednesday seeking the inclusion of funding for construction of new hangars for the KC-46 tankers in the upcoming ...
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In emotional testimony before a congressional committee today, several wives of jailed and tortured human rights lawyers appealed to the Trump Administration and congress to use its voice and all relevant U.S. laws, including the recently enacted Global Magnitsky Act, to stop the Chinese Government’s torture of their husbands. Chen Guiqiu, wife of detained lawyer Xie Yang, said “Due to his work defending human rights, he was jailed and brutally tortured,” including, “beatings delivered in rotati...
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Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-chair of the Bipartisan Taskforce to Combat Anti-Semitism, delivered the follow remarks on H.R. 672, the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2017: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 672, the Combating Anti-Semitism Act of 2017, sponsored by my friend NITA LOWEY. I and all of our fellow Co-Chairs of the Bi-Partisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism are original cosponsors. Among its provisions, the bill would require the Sta...
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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, yesterday in my capacity as Co-Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, I participated in a hearing to examine Russian military threats in the OSCE region. Russia today stands in violation of the central commitments of the Helsinki Final Act. These commitments include respect for the territorial integrity of States, fundamental freedoms, and the fulfillment in good faith of obligations unde...
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After three and a half decades of service to our nation, Col. Eric Mellinger (Ret.) of the U.S. Marines, who was first nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) in 1982, has retired from the military. At a ceremony held in Smith’s office today, his astonishing career was honored—and today’s pressing issues were discussed. “When I saw Eric in action it was clear that he has earned extraordinary respect,” said Smith referencing Mellinger’s leadership after Typhoon Haiyan ...
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