The U.S. State Department’s main effort to combat human trafficking will be the topic of a hearing planned by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues, and author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a law which mandates the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP). “Demanding Accountability: Evaluating the 2015 “Trafficking in Persons Report,” is the title of the hearing to be held before the Hou... Read more

U.S. Representatives Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), House Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan, Bicameral Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, commended the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) for holding Memory Screening Week from Nov. 1-7 and urged the general public, especially those 65 and over, to take advantage of the screenings. To find screening sites, one simply needs to enter their zip code at: http://www.afascreenings.org/search-us. “I applaud the AFA for expanding access... Read more

BY CONGRESSMAN CHRIS SMITH - Media outlets across the nation last week ran with the headline: “China Abolishes One-Child Policy.” Yet these headlines are highly misleading. It is true that China will revise its birth limitations policy, but this revision is not some major change to be lauded. The one-child policy has simply become a two-child policy, while the coercive population control apparatus remains essentially unchanged. The Chinese government has retained its power to tell Chinese couple... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), head of the House Foreign Affairs Global Health Subcommittee, warned that not enough attention is being paid to eradicating tuberculosis (TB)—a contagious airborne disease which killed 1.5 million people last year. Smith made the comments in response to the newly released World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2015 Global Tuberculosis Report. “TB has surpassed HIV/AIDS as the leading infectious disease cause of premature death. What is most troubling is the emergence ... Read more

“Even if the new policy allows couples to have two children—a claim that remains to be seen—the coercive population control policy is essentially unchanged,” said Rep. Chris Smith, a leading expert on US-China relations in the House of Representatives. “Children will continue to be killed if unauthorized by the government and huge fines imposed—the so-called social compensation fee—on families who evade detection and have so-called illegal children.” Smith said, “China’s population control progr... Read more

A special briefing Tuesday organized by the bipartisan co-chairs of Coalition for Autism Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) focused on Sesame Workshop’s new autism initiative—including a new muppet, Julia, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)—as well as on strategies for early detection and intervention, said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04). “Children with autism who receive early intervention and treatments following an ASD diagnosis demonstrate significant improvement in their long-term devel... Read more

The alarming global trends of rising religious persecution and what more the United States government needs to do to protect vulnerable religious minorities such as persecuted Christians in the Middle East, were the subjects of a hearing chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) today entitled “The Global Crisis of Religious Freedom.” “The world is witnessing a global religious freedom crisis that poses a direct challenge to U.S. interests in the Middle East, Asia, China, and Sub-Saharan Africa... Read more

By BCT Reporter David Levinsky - The long-standing issue of civilian pay disparity on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst may be closer to getting solved, thanks to a recommendation from a federal advisory committee. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee voted earlier this month to recommend that the entire joint base be included in the higher-paying New York wage area, rather than split between New York and the lower-paying Philadelphia wage area. The split and wage disparity was caused w... Read more

Advocates for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have taken the fight to the street—Sesame Street—at a special briefing Tuesday hosted by the bipartisan Coalition for Autism Research and Education (C.A.R.E), said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04). “Best Practices for Early Intervention for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” is the title of the congressional briefing. Early intervention and Sesame Street’s new Muppet, Julia, who has autism, will be the highlights of the event, wh... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) today praised House passage of the Research Excellence and Advancements for Dyslexia Act (READ Act/H.R. 3033)—bipartisan legislation that will boost dyslexia research funding at the National Science Foundation (NSF). “October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, and the House took a strong step forward today by passing legislation designed to enhance our understanding of dyslexia and assist millions of American children,” said Smith, who cosponsored the READ Act. “The REA... Read more