By L.A. Parker, Trentonian Columnist - The past caught up to Adam Pietras finally as memories tethered with blood and courage, stitches and heroism, fear and familial devotion resurfaced. Pietras, a Boy Scout enjoying life in Hamilton Township in the Fourth Congressional District represented by Chris Smith (R-NJ), gained recognition as a hero brother who saved his sister from a dog attack. Rep. Smith made his young constituent part of the Congressional Record on March 14. Two days later, Pietras... Read more

Stephen Edelson, Asbury Park Press - Kansas officials have already rejected a plea from one New Jersey state lawmaker to take action in the wake of last summer’s heatstroke death of former Neptune football player Braeden Bradforth. Now a federal lawmaker from New Jersey is seeking answers. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, has written to Garden City Community College president Ryan Ruda requesting an independent investigation into the events of Aug. 1, at the junior college in Garden City, Ka... Read more

A New Jersey congressman sends a two-page letter to leaders at Garden City Community College, seeking answers into the death of a GCCC football player in August 2018. The family of that player, Braeden Bradforth, says they still have many unanswered questions surrounding the 19-year-old's death. The Garden City Telegram reported a teammate found Bradforth in his dorm on the night of Aug. 1 in medical distress. Bradforth, a New Jersey native, was transported to St. Catherine Hospital where he di... Read more

Jerry Carino, Asbury Park Press | Feb. 8, 2019 Over the past several years, as diagnoses mushroomed, society has developed an increasing number of resources to help children with autism and their families. But once those children become adults, the resources become scarce. A $1 billion bill introduced in the House of Representatives Thursday seeks to, among other things, remedy that dropoff in support. The bipartisan bill, named the Autism CARES Act of 2019 (HR 1058) is sponsored by Republican C... Read more

By Josh Rogin Columnist | February 5 The wife of a Taiwanese human rights activist imprisoned in China will attend President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, hoping to raise awareness of her husband’s plight and Beijing’s growing persecution of non-Chinese citizens. She is calling on Trump and all Americans to help confront China’s exporting of its authoritarianism around the world. Chinese authorities arrested Taiwanese democracy activist Li Ming-che in March 2017 in the Chines... Read more

Nearly 130 years after Thomas Fallon of Freehold earned the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in the Civil War, the distinguished medal has been released to his family. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th District) presented Glenn Cashion of Middletown, who researched and determined that he was great nephew of Fallon, with the medal on February 4 during a ceremony held in the borough’s council chambers. Smith had petitioned the Army for several months, successfully persuading them to release the medal a... Read more

By NJJN Staff January 16, 2019, 12:52 pm THE U.S. HOUSE of Representatives on Jan. 11 passed legislation calling for the position of special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism to be swiftly filled. The bill would also strengthen the position to more adequately deal with a rise in anti-Semitism worldwide. Under the bill, the special envoy would be elevated to the rank of ambassador at the State Department and would be the primary adviser to the U.S. government on fighting anti-Semitism. Th... Read more

By Joshua Jongsma, North Jersey Record-USA Today Network Over $430 million will go toward combating human trafficking after New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith's bill was signed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The bill named after Frederick Douglas is the fifth anti-human trafficking law from Smith, a Republican representing the 4th Congressional district. The $430 million that will be spent over four years in the latest bill includes funding for: Age-appropriate prevention education for children... Read more

By Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman Sulaiman HAMILTON — African-American hero Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery as a young man in 1838 and then became a leader in the abolitionist movement, arguing for equal rights during the Civil War and later serving as a U.S. diplomat to Haiti. Douglass, 77, died in 1895, but his legacy lives on as President Donald Trump signed a human rights bill into law named after the great abolitionist and aimed at stopping modern-day slavery. The Frederick Douglass Traffic... Read more

By Johathan Salant of the Star Ledger/NJ.com In the closing days of the 115th Congress, as lawmakers prepared to go home for Christmas, they passed dozens of bills as final deals were cut and language was tweaked to ensure passage. Even as he negotiated with congressional leaders over legislation to keep parts of the federal government open past Friday, President Donald Trump affixed pen to paper and signed several measures into law. While talks broke down and the parts of the government closed ... Read more