Six members of Congress stressed the need for the U.S. government to take a more vigorously active role in protecting endangered Christians in the Holy Lands and the Middle East. Four representatives and two senators spoke Tuesday at the Third International Conference on Religious Freedom in the nation’s capital, sponsored by the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The speakers were Representatives Chris Smith, R-New Jersey; Jeff Fortenberry, R-Nebraska; Ca... Read more

“Today, President Trump took a decisive and historic step toward restoring American leadership in the world," said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today. "By rightfully recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the United States has chosen to lead on principle. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and has been for three millennia. The Jewish State has waited 70 years for international recognition of this fact and for 50 years has ensured religious liberty in all of Jerusalem, inc... Read more

Promoting religious freedom must be an integral part of U.S. diplomacy to protect against the spread of religious extremism and terrorism, expert witnesses stated at a hearing on “Advancing Human Rights to Combat Extremism” on Wednesday, held by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. “Advancing freedom of religion, both as an end in of itself and as means to achieve peace, stability and human flo... Read more

The House today passed legislation by Rep. Dave Trott (R-MI) and co-sponsored by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) that increases the penalties for female genital mutilation (FGM) in the U.S., a practice that the World Health Organization regards as a human rights violation and one that Smith has spoken out against in the past. Seventeen years ago, Smith’s landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, P.L. 106-386, highlighted female genital mutilation as a crime targeting immigrant women an... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) announced Thursday the winners of the Fourth Congressional District’s 2017 Congressional App Challenge (CAC), a competition for students of all ages from across the nation. The announcement comes in anticipation of Computer Science Education Week, December 4-10, 2017. “The Congressional App Challenge was launched to give school students in STEM fields, computer science and programming a venue to showcase their software applications achievements,” said Smith. “The Ap... Read more

Language allowing houses of worship to receive vital federal disaster assistance was included in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (HR 4460), which passed out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday by a voice vote. Read more

Next Wednesday, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House panel on global human rights, will be chairing a hearing entitled “Advancing Human Rights to Combat Extremism.” The hearing will explore the best strategies to counter violent extremism in the Islamic world, including by promoting religious freedom. Smith’s bill which was signed into law last year, the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (H.R. 1150), provided specific tools and resources for the State Department to imp... Read more

By Allison Bell at ThinkAdvisor - Coping with the effects of dementia on aging populations is a problem for in every country in the world. The House [Foreign Affairs Committee] global health subcommittee recognized the broad impact of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia Wednesday, by holding a hearing on the global fight against dementia. Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., the subcommittee chairman, said dementia now affects about 47 million people throughout the world, and that the num... Read more

Recent developments in the research of Alzheimer’s Disease have signaled that major medical breakthroughs could be coming, none too soon for this disease that is currently incurable and which poses a special burden to patients in developing countries who lack access to cutting-edge treatments, expert witness testified at a Congressional hearing on “A Global Update on Alzheimer’s Disease,” held today by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Chairman of the House global health subcommittee. PHOTO SLIDE SHOW ... Read more

In response to the sentencing of Taiwan democracy advocate Lee Ming-cheh to five years imprisonment for discussing human rights and democracy over social media and supporting human rights defenders in China, Congressman Chris Smith, Chair of the Global Human Rights Subcommittee and Cochair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China issued the following statement: “Tuesday’s sentencing is another reminder that the Chinese government will go to great lengths to curtail even private discuss... Read more