Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, issued the following statement on the detention of Franck Nzila, human rights advocate, in the Republic of the Congo: “Yesterday’s detention of Franck Nzila, human rights advocate, is a worrisome indicator that the Republic of the Congo is beginning to use China’s repressive and regressive blueprint of government control and is moving in the wrong direction ... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House panel on global human rights and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, issued the following statement on Wednesday on the release of three Americans detained in North Korea: “We welcome the release of the three Americans unjustly detained by Kim Jong-un, and look forward to their safe return home. Their release was the result of much work and many prayers. The President deserves the credit for this, as it was his policy ch... Read more

Aid workers, journalists, and religious and political leaders are being harassed, detained and silenced by governments in sub-Saharan Africa, and a Congressional global human rights panel held a critical hearing on Wednesday, chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), to examine what the U.S. can do now to protect them. “The closing of space for faith-based organizations and other civil society organizations is a worrying trend in a number of sub-Saharan countries,” Rep. Smith, long-time human r... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) made the following remarks on Wednesday in support of H.R. 5141, the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act I am pleased to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 5141, the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, and commend my good friend, Chairwoman emeritus Ros-Lehtinen, for her leadership in introducing H.R. 5141—a critical, important bipartisan measure—along with Congressman Deutch. This bill responds to a crisis of converging threats that im... Read more

Federal funding through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program approved by Congress for 2018 was awarded to several towns in New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District, announced Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04). “The Community Development Block Grant is a flexible grant that allows towns to develop housing and community improvement projects that best fits their needs and goals,” said Smith. “I am a longtime supporter of the CDBG program, which c... Read more

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank have been selected for two separate federal grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in support of their arts programs, services, and activities, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) announced on Tuesday. “These two organizations are making significant contributions to our communities through promoting access to and participation in the arts and reaching out to young people,” Rep. Smith stated. “They are lea... Read more

In a letter led by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04)—joined by Senators Roger Wicker (MI), Mike Lee (UT), and Marco Rubio (FL)— a coalition of leading human rights lawmakers has requested that a hold be placed on U.S. funding of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), for its apparent complicity in the destruction of a Russian family that fled to Guatemala. The letter requested that the hold be placed pending congressional oversight and investigation of CICIG, amid serious an... Read more

“According to the International Labor Organization, human trafficking in the private economy generates $150 billion in illegal profits per year. Sixteen million people are exploited in labor trafficking, 4.8 million people are exploited in sex trafficking, and four million are exploited in state-imposed trafficking,” Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) stated at a briefing on human trafficking in travel and tourism on Monday, hosted by the Helsinki Commission and the Congressional Human Trafficking C... Read more

Two libraries in Congressman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) Fourth Congressional District were selected to participate in a national educational project “Revisiting the Founding Era,” funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). “I am pleased to announce that Monmouth County Library and Middletown Township Public Library will participate in this special project to look more closely at the founding of this country,” Rep. Smith stated. “They will be able to lead and focus their communities on ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and other co-chairs of the Congressional Victims of Communism Caucus wrote to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday, urging him not to appear or speak at the May 5th unveiling event of the statue of Karl Marx which the People’s Republic of China has gifted to the city of Trier, Germany. “We strongly urge you not to appear or speak at the planned May 5th unveiling of the Karl Marx statue that the People’s Republic of China—a country that continues Marx’s ... Read more