At Georgian Court University in Lakewood, a new $1.9 million federal grant is helping students stay on track to timely graduation while improving overall retention rates. The U.S. Department of Education's Title III grant, payable over five years, is for GCU's Chart the Course program, which is designed to expand academic support services and bolster college completion."We established Chart the Course to help students needing non-credit skills development courses get back on track to graduating... Read more

By Chris Smith - Thursday, September 29, 2016 ANALYSIS/OPINION: Today marks 40 years since the life-saving Hyde Amendment was first enacted. This annual appropriations amendment stops taxpayer dollars from being used to fund most abortions and abortion coverage through government programs like Medicaid. Thanks to new analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute we now know that as many as two million children — some much older now — are alive today because of the Hyde amendment. Prior to enactment... Read more

By David Levinsky, BCT staff writer - "The joint base is the lifeblood of the community. Winning the competition to base the KC-46 at (the joint base) is absolutely vital to the future economic health and well-being of our municipalities," the officials said in the letter. "This mission will help grow the local economy." The letter also cited the strong community ties between the base and surrounding schools and towns. Seventy community leaders have been named "honorary commanders" by the joint... Read more

Two state senators have recently thrown their hats in the ring, opposing a utility project that would run through the heart of Monmouth County. Along with them, a local grassroots group, which has seen support grow steadily since inception, is doing everything it can to fight the project. Senators Joseph Kyrillos and Jennifer Beck (both R-Monmouth) have recently introduced three resolutions to the state Senate which would call for various entities across New Jersey to oppose the Monmouth County ... Read more

By Greg Wright | For NJ.com The Times, Trenton - One day before the 22nd anniversary of the signing of the Violence Against Women Act, the Hamilton-based New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence learned it was to be the recipient of $91,641 in grant funding. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) visited New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence (NJCEDV) last week where he announced the awarding of the grant. The funding grant program was established in the Victims of Trafficking and Prote... Read more

By HERB JACKSON WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT | The Record - A House committee takes up a bill today, sparked by outrage over relaxed restrictions on Cuba, that would require the White House to tell Congress what it is doing to extradite killers who have fled the United States. AP FILE PHOTO Joanne Chesimard The bill is named in honor of Walter Patterson and Werner Foerster, victims of killers who escaped New Jersey prisons and are believed to be living in Portugal and Cuba. New Jersey officials have... Read more

For 22 years, the Violence Against Women Act has been one of our nation’s most impactful laws. Aided by $6 billion in federal VAWA funding, millions of women have received emergency assistance during a crisis and support that has helped break the cycle of violence. As the first comprehensive legislative package to address the epidemic of domestic violence, VAWA changed the attention to and conversation surrounding how we as a nation can better support victims of abuse and help families in need o... Read more

Story and photos by Joseph Sapia - In about four years, Monmouth County could have its first permanent residences for military veterans in need of housing. The Massachusetts-based “Soldier On,” a nonprofit group that fights homelessness in the veterans community, laid out its concept for a series of co-op units on 12-1/2 acres on Essex Road at a press conference Tuesday. “Fifty to 100 (units) is what we set as our goal,” said Jim Scalise, Soldier On’s engineer. Based on 75 units, or the middle ... Read more

By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The Star-Ledger - Gold Star families would be welcome to tell stories of their loved ones killed while serving in the U.S. military under legislation passed by the U.S. House Tuesday. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), would expand the Library of Congress veterans history project to include interviews with family members of those killed or missing in action. Currently, the Library of Congress collects stories told by veterans.... Read more

By Chris Smith for the Washington Times - Since the civil war began in South Sudan in December of 2013, the news from one of the world’s newest countries has been consistently gruesome — targeted ethnic killings, rape, kidnappings and disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, recruitment and use of child soldiers, massive social upheaval, millions of hungry people and an economy on the brink of total collapse. As one of the members of Congress who has supported the people in what is now ... Read more