Excerpts from Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04): "I voted no on the AHCA largely because it cuts Medicaid funding by $839 billion; undercuts essential health benefits such as maternity care, newborn care, hospitalization and pediatric services; includes ‘per capita caps’ and weakens coverage for pre-existing health conditions—all of which will hurt disabled persons (especially and including children and adults with autism), the elderly and the working poor. Over the past several years, we have seen the f...
Read more
Today the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act of 2017 (Smith-Bass Douglass TVPA, H.R. 2200), authored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and lead Democrat Karen Bass (CA-37), today advanced from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and moves closer to House passage.. The Smith-Bass legislation, named after the great American abolitionist, will build on the successes of the original Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and ensure that victims get the protecti...
Read more
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, joined with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today in holding a hearing to examine the long-term prospects for human rights and basic freedoms in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s autonomy is being threatened by the Chinese government’s interventions in Hong Kong’s political affairs and its courts, the slow erosion of press and academic freedoms under Beijing’s pressure and the abduction of Hong Kong’s citizens by Chines...
Read more
The introduction of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), authored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) nearly 18 years ago, created a sea change in the way the United States battled human trafficking. No longer would victims suffer in silence while their traffickers roam free. Today, the House Panel on Global Human Rights—Chaired by Smith—held a hearing focused on the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (Smith-Bass Douglass TVPRA...
Read more
by KALHAN ROSENBLATT and CHANDELIS R. DUSTER Members of Congress have introduced a bipartisan bill named for American abolitionist Frederick Douglass that would seek to curb human trafficking. The new legislation, titled the "Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act of 2017," is co-sponsored by New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith and California Democrat Rep. Karen Bass. Seven other sponsors have put their support behind the bill, which would reauthorize $130 milli...
Read more
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House panel on Human Rights, will be holding a House hearing on Human Trafficking and the “Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017” on Tuesday, May 2nd . The legislation, named after the great American abolitionist, will strengthen penalties for traffickers and increase protection for the victims. “Born a slave in 1818—we celebrate and look forward to the 200th anniversary of his birth next year—Freder...
Read more
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), lead co-Sponsor Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37), and 7 other co-Sponsors today introduced the bipartisan Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 named after the famous American abolitionist on the eve of the 200th anniversary of his birth. This piece of legislation will reauthorize $130 million in funding for the prevention of human trafficking, protection of victims and prosecution of traffickers. “It is an honor to commemor...
Read more
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House panel on Africa and Global Health, today convened the seventh in a series of dialogues set to increase communications between Congress and the African Diplomatic Corps. This afternoon’s dialogue specifically examined nutrition in areas of conflict. Sub-Saharan Africa hosts more than 1.5 million refugees, and within African countries, an estimated 12.4 million are internally displaced. “As problematic as it is to achieve and maintain proper nutritio...
Read more
Earlier this year, the Obama Administration made the unilateral decision to break with nearly three decades of U.S. foreign policy and ease sanctions on the government of Sudan. Today, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) held a hearing entitled “The Questionable Case for Easing Sudan Sanctions” to examine the reasons for this lifting, and to investigate the effects this will have on the people of Sudan and U.S. interests in the region. “The Obama administration, in its last days in office in January, ...
Read more
Almost 200 years ago, Frederick Douglass began his astonishing life dedicated to educating others on the horrors of slavery. On Thursday, April 27, 2017, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37), Rep. Ann Wagner (MO-02), Lois Frankel (FL-21) and Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and the Co-Founder & President of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, will be holding a press conference to highlight the introduction of a new bill that aims to...
Read more
