Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Global Human Rights, today issued the following statement on the recent reports of forced abortions in Nigeria: “The credible reports by Reuters implicating Nigerian officials in systematic forced abortions performed on women and girls who were kidnapped and raped by Islamic militants shock the conscience. The United States must stand with these victims and ensure that those involved i...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) testifies before the House Rules Committee in July on his NDAA amendment to protect the education benefits of US service members forcibly discharged because of Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate. Democrats on the Committee blocked Smith’s amendment, denying it a vote by the full House of Representatives. As Congress enters eleventh-hour negotiations over its key annual defense policy bill, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today continued his full-court press to restore hard-earned edu...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, today condemned the United Nations’ passage of a resolution—by a vote of 90 to 30 with 47 abstentions—that called the foundation of the State of Israel a “catastrophe”: “This week’s egregious vote by the United Nations General Assembly condemning the founding of Israel as a ‘catastrophe,’ or Nakba, is a display of hatred for Israel and callousness towards its citizens and comes at an especially chilling time w...
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U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement regarding the historic mass protests against General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): “The CCP’s ‘zero-Covid’ policy is outrageous. In addition, the CCP restricts all human rights and freedoms in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and across China. It has robbed the Chinese people of their human dignity. “The Biden Administration's weak rejection of the CCP’s zero-Covid policy and refusa...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, today issued the following statement: “The targeting of Cardinal Joseph Zen in Hong Kong—a one-time bastion of freedom—underscores the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party to silence this champion of religious and civil liberty. Though his sentence was relatively light, the enemies of religious freedom targeted him to send a message: no one is safe. It is be...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) this week introduced new legislation—the Education Achievement and Opportunity Act of 2022 (HR 9320)—to make quality education from kindergarten through high school more affordable by providing critical tax relief to parents of schoolchildren. Smith’s bill would provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 per child to pay tuition and fees for enrollment in Jewish, parochial, public, charter, private and religious schools. Up to $1,500 of the authorized assistance can be used f...
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The following are remarks by Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) for the Walk to End Alzheimer's on Saturday, November 5th in Bradley Beach: “Special thanks to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Chair Al Davanzo, Executive Director of the NJ Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association Cheryl Srancione, and my good friend for many years, Christine Hopkins, AIM and Advocacy Chair. Thank you for your amazing work. And thanks to each of you for not only raising critically-needed funds for Alzheimer’s disease resea...
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Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), Co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, today issued the following statement on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) work to mitigate the broad threat against synagogues in New Jersey: “Special thanks to FBI officials and local law enforcement officers for taking swift action to monitor and mitigate the broad threat from a NJ-based individual intending to attack a Jewish synagogue and for working tirelessly to ensure our co...
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Emily Rogers - Zero Out Toxics, Advocate, PIRG This fall, Benton Harbor, Michigan, became the latest community to experience the national media’s glare for persistent lead contamination of its drinking water. Yet lead threats to our kids’ health are much more widespread than the few communities the public hears about. More than half of one million kids recently tested had lead in their blood. Fortunately, after years of inaction, the bipartisan infrastructure bill just approved by Congress will...
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On the eve of the tenth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) issued the following statement: “In 2012, Superstorm Sandy struck our shore and wreaked havoc on our communities, leaving families without housing, businesses in shambles, and decimated municipalities in its wake. “First responders courageously rescued people and faith-based organizations helped feed, clothe and shelter victims. Local and municipal leaders worked around the clock to restore normalcy to our t...
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