By Christopher Robbins/NJ.com The Star-Ledger on June 26, 2013 at 7:30 AM The onerous task of funding hurricane recovery just became a little easier for Monmouth County municipalities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced on Tuesday it will boost local Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts by reimbursing communities at a rate of 90 percent for certain Sandy related expenses, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th). “Being assured of a 90–10 percent split was necessary to continue our rebuildi... Read more

The precarious position of religious minorities in Syria—where over two years of civil war has claimed an estimated 93,000 lives and continues unabated—was the topic of a joint congressional hearing Tuesday held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues. “Religious Minorities in Syria: Caught in the Middle,” is the title of a rare joint hearing held before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, ... Read more

Cyber attacks from China have become a key point of contention between the United States and China. U.S. Rep. Smith, himself a victim of cyber attacks in 2006 and 2007 that were suspected of coming from China, is co-chair and highest House Member on the bipartisan, executive/congressional branch Commission on China, gave opening remarks at the hearing. The Commission took a hard look at Chinese cyber attacks on Chinese activists and human rights organizations, as well as American businesses and ... Read more

Students from the High Technology High School in Lincroft, N.J. visited Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) June 20 in his Washington office, where he congratulated them for being first place winners in Securities Industry and Financial Markets Associatio'sn “Stock Market Game – Capitol Hill Challenge.” The SIMFA Foundation started the stock market game in 2004, a program which highlights financial literacy and exposes students to Congress. The winning students from High Technology High are Arun Kal... Read more

“Ethiopia After Meles: The Future of Democracy and Human Rights,” is the title of a hearing held today by Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04) of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and Int’l Orgs. Testifying were Donald Y. Yamamoto, Acting Assistant Secretary of State; Earl Gast, Asst. Administrator of U.S. Agency for International Development; Dr. Berhanu Nega, Ph.D., of Bucknell University; Dr. J. Peter Pham, Ph.D., Director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center; Obang Me... Read more

The failure of the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of a prohibition against federal HIV/AIDS funding for any group “that does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking” is extremely disappointing and tragic for all victims of sexual exploitation, including sex trafficking, said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), the author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act. This provision (22 U.S.C. §7631(f)) is in the federal legislation for the pro... Read more

The Chinese Government was downgraded by the U.S. Department of State today and designated as one of the worst offenders in the world in combating human trafficking—joining North Korea, Syria, Zimbabwe and Iran. “China has become the sex and labor trafficking capital of the world,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), the prime author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA—Public Law 106-386) that, among its numerous provisions, authorized the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Per... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) gave the following remarks during House floor debate today of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act: Pain. We all dread it. Avoid it. Even fear it. And we all go to extraordinary lengths to mitigate its severity and duration. There are Kermit Gosnells all over America today inflicting not only violence, cruelty and death on very young children—but excruciating pain as well. Many Americans—including some who self-identify as pro-choice— were shocked and dismayed by... Read more

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $2.3 million for the Borough of Avon-by-the- Sea to help recover from the destruction of Superstorm Sandy, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), whose district includes hard-hit areas of Ocean and Monmouth counties. “Avon is depending on FEMA assistance to stay financially sound and get back on its feet,” said Smith, who repeatedly went to the House floor to push for a total of $60.4 billion in emergency disaster aid to fund the National ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith, the Republican lead on the National Alzheimer’s Project Act or NAPA (PL 111-375) that required comprehensive annual plans to prevent and successfully treat the Alzheimer’s disease by 2025, today praised the release of the second National Plan. As House co-chairs of the Bipartisan, Bicameral Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, Reps. Smith and Markey shepherded NAPA into law in 2011. The law required the development of a national plan to engage and coordinate governm... Read more