Ongoing human rights abuses at the hands of the Vietnamese Government including the mistreatment and imprisonment of democracy advocates, peoples of faith and labor rights activists, are the targets of a bill introduced Thursday by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04). “The Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2011,” H.R. 1410, was introduced April 7 to promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam by setting restrictions on U.S. aid while allowing humanitarian assistance to continue. “The human rights situation in ... Read more

In a bipartisan initiative to assist the millions of Americans afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease, Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.), House Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan, Bicameral Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, introduced the Health Outcomes, Planning and Education (H.O.P.E.) for Alzheimer’s Act, H.R. 1386, on Wednesday, April 6. The intent of the bill is to increase diagnosis of the disease and other forms of dementia, and to help get the latest information to new... Read more

"Mr. Speaker, I rise to convey to the House the extremely sad news that our former colleague from New Jersey, John Adler, passed away earlier today... . In Congress, John served with distinction on both the Financial Services and Veterans Affairs Committees. As a New Jersey State Senator for 17 years, John served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and sponsored laws requiring pension forfeitures and mandatory prison for corrupt officials... ." To view Smith's floor remarks on April 4,... Read more

The Lukashenka dictatorship that rules Belarus should be held accountable for its crimes against the Belarusian people in their struggle for freedom, human rights, and democracy, said Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04), a leading voice on human rights in Congress and chair of the House Human Rights Subcommittee, at a joint hearing today with the Europe and Eurasia Subcommittee chaired by Chairman Dan Burton (IN-05). Smith called the recent December elections a “mockery” reminiscent of the late Soviet ... Read more

At a full committee hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee today, Africa Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04) asked Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg critcal questions about the Obama Admnistration's handling of the Libyan crisis. "Madam Chair, I am once again grateful to U.S. military personnel and their coalition counterparts for the courage, professionalism, and tenacity they have exhibited in executing their orders to implement UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and... Read more

International efforts to fight anti-Semitism require greater action and unity, especially in light of the turmoil in the Middle East, said U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Smith made the remarks at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Prague meeting on “Confronting Anti-Semitism in Public Discourse.” He said investigations and prosecutions of crimes related to anti-Jewish bias were crit... Read more

Family members of folks killed in Northern Ireland testified this week to a federal commission chaired by Congressman Chris Smith, with the relatives calling for independent investigations and accountability for past abuses by security services in Northern Ireland. A group of Irish-American leaders from Hamilton, led by Sean Pender of the National Ancient Order of Hibernians in America, were among the many activists on Capitol Hill seeking justice and resolution for the grisly acts of violence a... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith met with a group of high school students who traveled to Washington, D.C. from the Fourth Congressional District in New Jersey on March 17, 2011. The students, from the "Government and Law Related Experiences" (GALRE) class at Hamilton High School North (Nottingham High School) in Mercer County, N.J., went to the House of Representatives gallery -- the balcony area above the floor of the House -- to watch a House congressional vote take place. On the steps of the Capitol ... Read more

Fresh from an appearance at Saturday's St. Patrick's Day parade in Hamilton, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith turned to more serious matters Wednesday, hosting a hearing on peace and justice in Northern Ireland. Called "Northern Ireland: Why Justice in Individual Cases Matters," the hearing centered on the bloody violence waged in Northern Ireland during a nearly four-decade conflict between unionist and nationalist forces there. Smith, R-Robbinsville, is the chairman of the Commission on Security and Coop... Read more

On the floor of the House today Congressman Smith lauded the spirit and tenacity of human rights leader Oscar Biscet, who endured nearly 12 years imprisonment in Cuba and for whom Smith recently led a congressional nomination to receive the Nobel Prize: "Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Oscar Biscet of Cuba, one of the bravest and brightest human rights defenders on Earth, was released on March 11 from a wretched Cuban prison where he had endured 8 years of torture with periods of solitary confinem... Read more