Pointing to video of a ten-week baby kicking in the womb, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)—Co-Chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus—today called on members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to "recognize that protecting life is at the core of the debate over the Mexico City Policy." “Human life begins at the moment of conception. Every second thereafter is simply a stage of development. By day 22 after fertilization the heart is beating and brain waves can be detected at 44 days. By week five tiny... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today called House approval of a four-year reauthorization of the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route “a key federal investment in helping preserve New Jersey’s rich history.” “The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route provides an important link to natural and cultural sites all across the pristine coastal area of New Jersey. Continued federal support will ensure tourists and residents alike have the ability to best explore the many recreational, scenic and edu... Read more

As the House Foreign Affairs Committee seeks answers from Yahoo about its role in the arrest of a Chinese journalist, Congress took a major step forward today in preventing U.S. technology companies from aiding regimes who restrict access to the Internet when the Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) that would criminalize such activities. Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of the nation’s first anti-trafficking law and its two subsequent reauthorizations, today called the House Foreign Affairs Committee passage of the 2007 reauthorization of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386) “another step forward in our commitment to end this appalling form of modern-day slavery.” Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Africa, Global Health and International Operations Subcommittee, today delivered the following remarks at a "Newsmakers" event at that National Press Club: Human rights in Ethiopia is not a burning question in Washington today. It ought to be. We don’t read, or hear, or talk much about it. That has to change, and I believe most of us here today know that. That’s why we’re here. I got involved in Ethiopian human rights iss... Read more

The investigative arm of Congress, the General Accountability Office (GAO), today released a report admonishing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their failures to use health-based standards to test sites that had previously been a processing or receiving facility for contaminated vermiculite ore and to adequately notify the public of the health risks from this particularly hazardous form of naturally occurring asbestos. Read more

In September 2000, I had the privilege to chair a hearing on the Armenian Genocide Resolution. It was a four-hour hearing, the first hearing this House ever held on the Armenian Genocide. The testimony I heard that day, and accounts of the atrocities I have read in the articles and books over the years, shocked me deeply. The existence of a campaign of genocide denial also shocked me deeply. Read more

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission’s (BRAC) decision to close Fort Monmouth will be front and center at an upcoming Congressional hearing next month, U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and Jim Saxton (NJ-03) announced today after receiving a commitment from a powerful House committee chairman that their request for a hearing will be honored. Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today helped launch a new Congressional working group which aims to help Congress get an early jump on understanding the long-term health needs of children by advocating for and promoting the landmark National Children’s Study (NCS) on Capitol Hill. Read more

In a strongly worded letter to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and over twenty colleagues called on the agency to adopt its own expert panel’s strongest recommended limits on smog pollution. Read more