WRITTEN BY SUSAN BLOOM, ASBURY PARK PRESS CORRESPONDENT -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, along with Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-PA, have proposed a bill that calls on the federal government to both engage in and lead a coordinated, international effort to address Alzheimer’s disease. House Resolution 489, introduced April 4, would help advance work for the treatment, prevention and ultimate cure of Alzheimer’s, as well as other forms of dementia. The bill represents the next step within an ongoing effort th... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Dean of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation, addressed the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce as it gathered in Washington, D.C. at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel last night: On a myriad of fronts, the number of seemingly insurmountable challenges facing America today demands sober, serious and sustained problem solving by Congress, the President and stakeholders of every stripe. Thankfully we have highly motivated and informed experts from the private sector incl... Read more

A throng of firefighters gathered at the Hamilton Elks Lodge on Kuser Road today to fete U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (Robbinsville, N.J.) for his work to protect the jobs of Trenton firefighters over the past four years by helping to secure two key grants worth over $28 million and heading off massive layoffs. At the surprise event, Smith was presented with a white fire chief’s helmet with a broad badge that read “Congressman” and an engraved name placard below it that read “Chris Smith.” He al... Read more

By Cristina Rojas/The Times of Trenton -- Officials at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst broke ground last week on a new $42 million, 100,000-square-foot hangar that will replace a historic wooden structure they say is in such poor condition it could damage aircraft and equipment. Known as Hangar 5, the existing structure was built in 1943 for the Navy’s antisubmarine blimp fleet during World War II. Hangar 5 and its still-standing twin, Hangar 6, are the largest, single arch wooden structures ev... Read more

BY ASBURY PARK PRESS SENIOR REPORTER KIRK MOORE - Work is beginning on a new Army electronics research and aviation center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst — a $42 million project that will keep one of the last vestiges in New Jersey of the once-massive Fort Monmouth research complex. Six years in the making, the new home of the Communications and Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center will allow the Army to move people and helicopters out of an aging wooden blimp hangar bui... Read more

The groundbreaking for a new project championed by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) that will protect and enhance critical Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst missions took place today. Smith, worked for years to advance the project which was included in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), was a guest speaker. The new Army aviation facility will house the Communications and Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Flight Activity (CFA) on the former Lakehurst Naval ... Read more

BY KIRK MOORE, Asbury Park Press Staff -- Five Republican congressmen from New Jersey on Wednesday asked to meet with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to discuss the long time lags in delivering post-superstorm Sandy rebuilding aid to homeowners — and rumors that a third round of funding could be cut. High on the list of concerns is the time it takes to complete “duplication of benefits analysis” — a lengthy accountability system that HUD requires to make ... Read more

A group of New Jersey members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Secretary Shaun Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Acting Chair Michael Boots of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) requesting that they attend a N.J. congressional delegation meeting to hear out questions and concerns from the delegation and state lawmakers as to why the process for helping homeowners recovering from Superstorm Sandy is taking so long. The lawmakers... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-chair of the House Alzheimer's disease caucus, was asked by the Alzheimer’s Association to present its national “Outstanding Advocate Award” to Mary Gerard, of Ocean Township, N.J., last night. The Alzheimer’s Association is holding its annual Alzheimer’s Association National Dinner and conference this week in Washington. Gerard received the Alzheimer’s Association award, presented annually to an extraordinary Alzheimer’s advocate who has shown outstanding lea... Read more

The rate for childhood autism in the U.S. has risen to a stunning one in 68, according to statistics released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In New Jersey the rate is even higher —one in 45. And the rate is four times higher among boys than girls. What’s going on here? Why has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) become a worldwide pandemic? Why is the incidence growing? In 1980, only three out of 10,000 children were diagnosed with the condition. While heightened aw... Read more