TOMS RIVER, NJ — For years, veterans in Ocean County have been telling anyone who would listen that they needed better access to health care. They needed specialists. They needed mental health services. They needed parking. On Monday, all of those requests, and years of urging by state, local and federal officials culminated in the groundbreaking for the VA's new Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Toms River. Veterans groups and officials from around the area celebrated what VA officials call... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today joined local and county officials in Toms River to mark the groundbreaking for a new Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic, which will replace Ocean County’s Brick clinic that Smith secured in 1991 but can no longer accommodate the large veterans population in the area. “A grateful nation must put veterans first and ensure that their sacrifice is tangibly recognized in both word and deed,” said Rep. Smith, who has authored more than a dozen laws improving educational, homel... Read more

Amid the alarming shortage of baby formula gripping the nation, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) this week pushed for new legislation—the Formula Act of 2022 (H.R. 7718)—intended to bolster the U.S. infant formula supply and help strengthen its resilience to supply chain disruptions to prevent a future crisis. “As millions of American families scramble to feed their infants, President Biden has failed to take effective action to resolve this life-or-death crisis and ensure parents have access to this cr... Read more

At a human rights hearing today, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forced harvesting of organs from living prisoners, calling for an “immediate concerted effort to stop this barbaric practice—not only in China, but also by its global enablers.” Chaired by Smith, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing comes on the heels of the groundbreaking article recently published in a top, peer-reviewed U.S. medical journal citing overwhelming evidence of the CCP’... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) this week cosponsored new legislation (H.R. 7690) to defund the Biden Administration’s so-called “Disinformation Governance Board”—the taxpayer-funded initiative posing threats to free speech that was recently announced by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The bill—introduced by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy—would prohibit the use of federal funds to establish or carry out the DHS Disinformation Governance Board or any other simil... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and Ranking Member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, today released the following statement on the recent arrest of Hong Kong Cardinal Zen and other democracy advocates: “The arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen and other democracy advocates by Hong Kong police is an egregious abuse of human rights and religious freedom that should chill freedom-loving people the world over. The persecution of Cardinal Zen, f... Read more

Jerry Carino Asbury Park Press USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY Page 1 In January, Bill Borowsky Jr. was discharged from the Marine Corps for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccination. Now the lifelong Point Pleasant resident is supporting a bill introduced by Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith that would require reinstatement of service members who opted not to be vaccinated. The bill (H.R. 7570) seeks “to establish certain protections for individuals involuntarily separated from the Armed Forces so... Read more

The leak of Justice Alito’s February draft opinion on Dobbs is an egregious abuse of process and trust. That said, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to take a powerful step towards empowering elected representatives to protect the weakest and most vulnerable. We are at the tipping point. A new national debate on abortion has begun and fresh scrutiny must be brought to bear on how the lives of unborn children are destroyed including by dismemberment with sharp knives, pulverization by powerful... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the following statement today on the 47th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon: “Today, April 30, marks the 47th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the free Republic of Vietnam. Tragically, the Communist government that has ruled the entire country since then asserted totalitarian control over society, which led to a great exodus of people fleeing for hope of a better life and for freedom. Today our nation has been enriched by the contributions of so man... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a staunch advocate for those who serve in uniform, this week introduced new legislation—H.R. 7570—that would require top-ranking military officials to reinstate U.S. service members seeking to return to service after being forcibly discharged from duty as a result of President Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate. Smith, who has authored more than a dozen laws to help veterans and their families, said his legislation comes in response to meetings with constituents—including a ... Read more