U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) released the following statement in response to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) congressional briefing on the implementation of the Sandy Claims Review Process: “Sandy victims insured through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will finally be given the due consideration and comprehensive analysis they have been entitled to all along. These hard-fought-for reforms announced today incorporate critical safeguards that we have advocated for in ... Read more

The winners of the 2015 Annual Congressional Art Competition were announced today by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), who organizes the annual show. “The students’ artwork entered this year was splendid,” Smith said. “This year we had 69 total entries representing a variety of styles and mediums. It is good to know this level of artistry is being fostered by art teachers in the Fourth Congressional District. I congratulate all the winners and participants.” The event was held at Georgian Court U... Read more

To mark the 42nd anniversary of the brutal murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster by Joanne Chesimard on May 2, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) today announced the introduction of a bill to strengthen the ability of the United States to extradite convicted killers like Chesimard from countries where they have taken refuge, and bring them home to face justice. The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Albio Sires (NJ-08). “In many cases around the world, efforts to extradite convicted criminals h... Read more

According to various human rights organizations, global press freedoms declined last year to their lowest point in the past decade. Reporters, editors and publishers face intimidation, surveillance and threats to their lives, and there are mounting restrictions on the free flow of news and information. Last year also was one of the worst years ever for the number of international journalists killed. To meet this growing challenge to freedom of expression, Congressman Chris Smith will introduce l... Read more

At a hearing today, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) called on the Administration to use existing U.S. law to block entry into the U.S. for Chinese government officials responsible for implementing China’s coercive, brutal population control policies. In his testimony, blind activist and legal advocate, Chen Guangcheng calls China’s violent population control efforts “genocide” and calls for a U.N. tribunal to “investigate crimes committed by the Communist regime in China…particularly [the] genoc... Read more

Marking 40 years since the fall of Saigon, Congressman Smith today introduced the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2015 along with a bipartisan group of co-sponsors that includes Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (CA-39), Representatives Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48), Loretta Sanchez (CA-46), Alan Lowenthal, (CA-47) and Gerald Connolly (VA-11). The bill, H.R. 2140, which passed the House overwhelmingly five previous times only to get stalled in Senate each time, would make c... Read more

The Robbinsville Township Fire Department was awarded a grant in the amount of $111,585 from the Department of Homeland Security through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, announced Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) today. The grant will be used to replace 16 sets of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA’s) needed by firefighters to maintain an adequate air supply when entering dangerous conditions. The department’s existing SCBAs are approaching the end of their serviceable li... Read more

At a hearing held today by a congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues, Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04) and other lawmakers examined legislation that would block the worst foreign human rights offenders and most corrupt officials from entering the United States or owning U.S. assets. “The Global Magnitsky Act is intended to disrupt the impunity and comfort that far too many international human rights violators currently enjoy and to keep their tainted money out of our financial s... Read more

Ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s address to Congress on Wednesday, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, urged Prime Minister Abe to help the many American victims of international parental child abduction in Japan. “It is tragic that hundreds of American children have been parentally abducted to Japan – and it’s outrageous that the Japanese government has returned not a single one. Each case is a heartbreaking story of a child unjustly separated from a lovi... Read more

A proposed bill to expand an anti-corruption law named after a Russian lawyer believed to have been murdered as part of a cover up in Russia 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. The existing Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 directed the President to publish and update a list of each person the President had reason to believe was responsible for the detent... Read more