U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-chairman of the U.S. Commission on China, (CECC) and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs human rights subcommittee urged the Chinese government to end its harsh policy of arbitrary detention long used against human rights lawyer and religious freedom advocate Gao Zhisheng and allow him to meet his family and friends without restriction. There are growing concerns that Gao will continue to be detained and isolated in “house” detention after his release. This ty... Read more

The House Foreign Affairs Africa and Global Health Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04) has scheduled an emergency congressional hearing in Washington tomorrow on the unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola virus, featuring Dr. Thomas Freiden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Smith’s panel will also hear from the leaders of the two Christian organizations—Samaritan’s Purse and SIM—whose American health workers contracted Ebola and were recently brought back to the U.S. for t... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) today hailed the Senate’s passage last night of his legislation reauthorizing federal autism research programs and beginning the conversation on how we as a nation can best address the “aging-out” crisis. Having passed the House on June 24th, this bill is now on its way to the President for his signature and enactment into law. “By passing this legislation, Congress assures individuals with autism and their families that they will not be left behind, and that we a... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) hailed the passage of The Veteran’s Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (HR 3230) late today to address the shocking misconduct uncovered at Veteran Administration hospitals and to greatly improve health care access for our veterans, including at the VA clinic in Brick, N.J. “There is no one in America today—either individually or collectively—who commands deeper respect, admiration and gratitude than our nation’s veterans,” said Smith, a former chairman ... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke on the House floor Tuesday expressing strong support for Israel’s right of self-defense against Hamas’s unprovoked rocket and tunnel attacks. “The facts on this round of Hamas attacks were clear from the start and follow a long-established pattern,” said Smith, a senior member of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the Bi-Partisan Anti-Semitism Task Force. “It’s high ... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) responded to the administration’s release today of the International Religious Freedom Report and Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designations, expressing surprise and disappointment at the countries missing from the list. “Vietnam should without a doubt be on the sanctions list for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom—but it is glaringly absent,” said Smith, who was one of the key architects of the International Religious Freed... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) hailed a bipartisan agreement to provide veterans across the country a quicker route to access the care they need in the short term, while providing the resources for the VA to build its capacity to deliver quality care to veterans for the long-term. “Ensuring our veterans have timely access to medical care must be priority number one,” said Smith, former chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “I am eager to comb through the final text but am pleased tha... Read more

Today, nearly five years after U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) introduced his first bill to prevent international parental child abduction standing alongside “left behind” parents in front of the Capitol, Congress gave final approval to his legislation, The Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act, House of Representatives Bill 3212 (H.R. 3212). Smith wrote the original proposed legislation in 2009 subsequent to his personal intervention in the fight to bring... Read more

(Agence France -Presse) Congress gave its final approval Friday to legislation that compels US authorities to assist American mothers and fathers whose children are victims of international parental abductions. More than 1,000 international child abductions each year are reported to the State Department, with children often taken illegally from the United States by a foreign parent to countries like Brazil, England, India, Japan and Russia. Most of them are not returned. By simple voice vote, th... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith, Chairman of the congressional panel on Africa and global human rights, today celebrated the release and freedom of the Sudanese woman imprisoned and sentenced to death in Sudan for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Yesterday, Smith held a hearing as part of a series of ongoing efforts to highlight the plight of Mariam Ibrahim and give new impetus to her stalled departure from Sudan. Meriam Ibrahim, her husband Daniel Wani, and their two children were detained in Sudan ... Read more