By: Kurt Jensen | Catholic News Service U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., called forced organ harvesting in China “a horror story” that is affecting tens of thousands of individuals” of “various religions” who are killed there “for body parts, including skin.” On May 12, Smith, a Catholic, led a discussion of organ harvesting at an online hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which he co-chairs. The hearing was prompted by an April 4 article published in the American Journal of Transpl... Read more

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

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

By Olivia Liu Asbury Park Press Yevgen Kashchenko of New Brunswick said his sister lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. On Friday, a missile hit a house two blocks from her. His father is in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Russian tanks had entered the city Saturday. “The fights are going as we speak,” Kashchenko said. “When Putin says that they do not attack civilians, that’s not true. They attack them throughout the whole country and people die.” Kashchenko was one of about 80 people protesting against the war in Ukrai... Read more

New legislation authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) with lead Democrat cosponsor Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) recognizes February as American Heart Month and is designed to bring greater awareness to the global cardiovascular health crisis and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to combat heart disease throughout the year. “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans—and more women die from heart disease than all cancers combined,” said Rep. Smith, noting that approximately 659,000... Read more

By Christina Leslie, Correspondent Congressman Smith and Father Garry Koch, pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel, pose for a photo before a Catholic Schools Week display in the gathering space of the parish church. “Our Catholic faith is built on rock,” declared U.S. Congressman Chris Smith to the students of St. Benedict School, Holmdel, seated before him Jan. 31. “Nobody does outreach better than our Church.” Smith, a Catholic congressman now in his 21st term as the U.S. representative for ... Read more

By GABRIELLE REYES U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Brian Leung denounced mainstream corporations for supporting Beijing’s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics at a “#NoBeijing2022” rally on Thursday in Washington, DC, saying their sponsoring of the event equates to tacit approval of the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights violations. Smith and Leung spoke in person at the demonstration on February 3, organized by the Victims of Communism Memorial Fund (VOC). “... Read more

By WOBM Staff Reporter Vin Ebenau In the almost 10-years now following Superstorm Sandy, municipalities up and down the Jersey Shore have been working to find solutions to issues along the shore line -- mainly with beach replenishment projects to address flooding, flooding on back bays, sand dunes, etc. while also trying to secure the necessary funding to make it all happen. There's been push after push with state and federal agencies trying to get what they need and in a much quicker timeframe.... Read more

By Rep. Chris Smith - Pro-lifers march for life in Washington D.C. and throughout the country with fresh hope and heightened expectations. By at least affirming the constitutionality of Mississippi’s law to prohibit elective abortion after 15 weeks—the Supreme Court may finally take a powerful step towards inclusion, respect and justice for the weakest and most vulnerable nearly fifty years after Roe. In 1973, the Supreme Court abandoned women and babies to the multi-billion-dollar abortion ind... Read more

By Amanda Oglesby and Joe Strupp - Asbury Park Press staff writers New Jersey community leaders condemned the attack Saturday on a Jewish house of worship in Texas and said the act reflected growing antisemitism across the nation. Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a British citizen, took hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on Saturday, according to the FBI and media reports. He appears to have acted alone, according to the bureau. Akram was killed and none of the four hostages were... Read more