By Carly Baldwin, Patch Staff Oct 1, 2019 3:17 pm - This past Monday, major autism legislation initially inspired by a Brick family and authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) was signed into law by President Donald Trump. The bill, called the Autism CARES Act of 2019, authorizes the federal government to spend $1.8 billion over the next five years to help children and adults with autism by funding research, early detection and treatment. Smith, a Republican, sponsored the bill with Rep. Mike Doyle,... Read more

Jerry Carino, Asbury Park Press One day in 1997, two parents from Brick met with Rep. Chris Smith for three hours to discuss a growing but poorly understood health issue. Bobbie and Billy Gallagher were raising two toddlers with autism, and their concerns prompted Smith to examine how the federal government was addressing the disorder. “Nothing was being done for autism — $287,000 was being spent,” recalled Smith, whose Congressional district covers part of Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer counties. ... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith was a guest on the Bill Spadea morning drive radio show on Sept. 23, 2019 to talk about Senate passage of his bipartisan 'Smith-Doyle' bill on federal autism programs: Congressman Chris Smith, one of the strongest champions of the ‘little guy’ in Washington DC, joined me Monday to share his latest victory on your behalf. Since joining the House of Representatives in 1981, Chris Smith has been an advocate for families dealing with Autism. Forty years ago, the numbers in Jersey we... Read more

By Dan Alexander NJ101.5 Staff - The House of Representatives has approved a request by New Jersey U.S. Rep. Chris Smith directing the Department of Defense's Inspector General to determine whether the military experimented with ticks and insects as possible biological weapons between 1950 and 1975. The 4th Congressional District representative said he wants to know if such experimentation is connected with the growth of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases in the United States. "With Lyme... Read more

By Tami Abdollah | AP - September 17 at 4:23 PM - WASHINGTON — Activists involved in the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong appealed to U.S. lawmakers Tuesday to support their fight by banning the export of American police equipment that is used against demonstrators and by more closely monitoring Chinese efforts to undermine civil liberties in the city. The activists, including several young people who have emerged as prominent figures in a leaderless movement, testified before a U.S. governme... Read more

By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com WASHINGTON — New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith has tried for years to pass legislation protecting Hong Kong’s democratic systems from Chinese incursions. He may finally get his wish. As protesters continue to face down Chinese authorities in Hong Kong, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she would bring Smith’s bill up for a vote. The legislation first is scheduled to be considered by the House Foreign Affairs Committee next week. “I’ve heard ... Read more

BY RANDY BERGMANN - APP Editor & Columnist In what was a particularly timely appearance, Elan Carr, special U.S. envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism, came to Lakewood Tuesday to talk about growing anti-Semitism and how to combat it in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. While he talked mostly in broad strokes about the rise of anti-Semitism throughout the world, locally he singled out the Rise Up Ocean County Facebook page as a scourge and noted with disgust how some local politicians h... Read more

BY SUSANNE CERVENKA, APP STAFF WRITER - Walter S. McAfee dreamed of getting his doctorate, but his physics department chairman suggested he take industrial arts instead. After all, that would be more beneficial considering it was likely McAfee would teach in a black college in the South, McAfee told the Asbury Park Press in a 1982 interview, recalling the conversation he had had when he was pursuing his master's degree at Ohio State University in the 1930s. Walter S. McAfee (Photo: U.S. Army) Mc... Read more

BY APP WRITER JERRY CARINO - Reyansh Parmar’s favorite things are stacked in a corner of his bedroom. There’s his Finn McMissile pillow from the movie “Cars 2.” There’s a big red teddy bear. There is the plastic kitchenette he played with every day, cooking daddy invisible meals. But Reyansh isn’t there anymore. He hasn’t been home in seven years, since his mother took him to India and refused to come back. He’s 10 now, and father Ravi Parmar has been fighting a lonely, desperate battle to reuni... Read more

By Susanne Cervenka, USA TODAY•August 14, 2019 People suffering from Lyme disease could be closer to knowing whether the chronic illness impacting an estimated 300,000 or more people started off as a U.S. biological weapon. U.S Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey hopes that knowledge could lead not only to accountability, but also a potential cure and greater recognition of the disease. "My hope is, this jump-starts a very aggressive effort to find a cure and see how this (Lyme disease) is growing. ... Read more