The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $2.6 million for the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach to help the town 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. “This FEMA assistance is sorely needed to help the borough stay fiscally sound after the greatest Jersey Shore disaster in our lifetime,” said Smith, who earlier this year repeatedly took to the House floor to pus... Read more

By Shaun Tandon (AFP) - The leaders of the United States and China appear to have started off on friendly terms during a weekend together in the California sun, but it remains to be seen if good vibes can bridge deep gaps. At the aptly named Sunnylands retreat, President Barack Obama gave his counterpart Xi Jinping a redwood bench as a gift, and the leaders of the rising and established powers took a 50-minute stroll with only their interpreters. The two sides had billed the casual summit as a w... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, (N.J.-04), Special Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly on Human Trafficking Issues, Co-Chairman of the United States Helsinki Commission and co-chairman of the House Human Trafficking Caucus, addressed an international conference on human trafficking today: In January of 2000, I received actionable information that eight Ukrainian women were being exploited by sex traffickers in two bars in Montenegro. The... Read more

Sponsors of the world-famous Dakar Rally should request the release of American businessman Jacob Ostreicher—who has been unlawfully detained in Bolivia for two years—or insist that the 2014 Rally exclude Bolivia from its planned route, said U.S. Representative Chris Smith (NJ-04), who together with other members of Congress is seeking Ostreicher’s release. “Both for the sake of justice and in the interest of ensuring the security of the Dakar Rally participants and spectators, we are respectful... Read more

On the MSNBC show Andrea Mitchell Reports today, Congressman Chris Smith said that President Obama should substantively discuss human rights abuses in China with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California Friday and Saturday during their planned meetings to discuss economic and security issues. "As the entire world observed the grim anniversary earlier this week of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre of 1989, the timing could not be better to raise the issue of human rights abuses in Chin... Read more

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House human rights subcommittee, took to the House floor today to call on the U.S. Administration to cease its indifference to widespread human rights abuses in China, even as President Obama prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow. "Tomorrow, President Obama will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California to discuss security and economic issues," said Smith co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commissio... Read more

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $4.1 million for the Borough of Spring Lake to help fund the reconstruction of its boardwalk destroyed Superstorm Sandy, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), who represents the hard-hit disaster areas of Ocean and Monmouth counties. “Spring Lake, like its neighboring shore communities and their residents, are counting on FEMA assistance to stay sound financially,” said Smith. “Our towns have expended tremendous, unprecedented amounts of ... Read more

This week's 24th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the case of a New Jersey woman's father trapped in Bolivia and other issues were among the topics of the morning news show "Washington Journal" on CSPAN featuring Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04), head of the global human rights subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives, and co-chair of the China Commission. Click here or on video below to watch the 45-minute program that featured Cong. Smith exchanges with host... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House subcommittee on global human rights, convened a hearing to examine the ongoing ethnic, political and religious persecution in Vietnam, as well as the government’s increasing use of confiscation of homes and land as a means to repress fundamental human rights. Testifying were: Anh “Joseph” Cao, former Member of U.S. Congress (only Vietnamese-American ever elected to Congress) Nguyen Dinh Thang, Ph.D., Executive Director, Boat People SOS The Ven... Read more

Today’s 24th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre was remembered at a congressional hearing about human rights abuse in China held by Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04), head of the global human rights subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives. “Today—and this week—the world remembers the dream that was and is the “Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989” and deeply honors the sacrifice endured by an extraordinarily brave group of pro-democracy Chinese women and men who dar... Read more