BY NICQUEL TERRY, APP STAFF WRITER - In an effort to mitigate the traffic congestion along Route 66, state officials have proposed a $12 million widening project that would expand the roadway from two lanes to four. The plan, detailed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation this week, looks to widen a 1.2 mile stretch of Route 66, from Jumping Brook Road to Wayside Road, which has a history of delays and bottlenecks, officials say. A statement from Congressman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ 04) offi... Read more

The Washington Post Editorial Board agrees with Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), author of the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act: the State Department must do more to help bring abducted American children home. This editorial was printed in the August 13, 2015 edition of the Washington Post and can be viewed here Read more

BY REUTERS WRITERS JASON SZEP AND MATT SPETALNICK- In the weeks leading up to a critical annual U.S. report on human trafficking that publicly shames the world’s worst offenders, human rights experts at the State Department concluded that trafficking conditions hadn’t improved in Malaysia and Cuba. And in China, they found, things had grown worse. The State Department’s senior political staff saw it differently — and they prevailed. A Reuters examination, based on interviews with more than a doz... Read more

BY NJ.COM WRITER ROB SPAHR - The troublesome coastal lake near some of the Jersey Shore's priciest homes is slated to get millions in assistance from the federal government. U.S. Chris Smith (R-4th District) announced Tuesday that nearly $3.6 million in federal funding through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 would be directed to help alleviate the flood risk around Wreck Pond and help to enhance water quality of the pond. "Superstorm Sandy highlighted the significant health and sa... Read more

By Jonathan Salant of the Star Ledger - When his home in Manasquan was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, David Armstrong secured a low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration to rebuild it. But when the federal government later offered grants to Sandy victims, Armstrong was out of luck. His $300,000 loan precluded him from getting any of that money. "We had no clue when we signed up and accepted the SBA loan that it would prohibit us from any other types of financial aid," said Armstron... Read more

By Nicole Gaudiano, USA TODAY - Superstorm Sandy victims who accepted federal disaster loans for their homes were never told that doing so could make them ineligible for future grant funding, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., 4th District, said Wednesday. The New Jersey Republican told the House Small Business Committee that victims of the 2012 storm were misled by the Small Business Administration’s “complete lack of information and disclosure” about its loan process after the 2012 storm. “Homeown... Read more

President Obama is facing bipartisan criticism for hosting Vietnam’s Communist Party boss at the White House this week, given the government’s “deplorable” human rights record and “authoritarian” one-party system. The president met Tuesday with Nguyen Phu Trong, head of Vietnam’s Communist Party. Trong does not hold an official government position, but is regarded as the nation’s de-facto leader for directing Vietnam’s controlling party. But the meeting, coming after the administration took yet ... Read more

By David Levinsky BCT Staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 3:15 pm U.S. Rep. Chris Smith is taking another crack at correcting a lingering pay disparity issue for some civilian workers on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The veteran lawmaker introduced the Joint Base Pay Parity Act last week to try to correct the disparity caused when the joint base was formed in 2009 from the formerly separate installations of Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base and Lakehurst Naval Engineering station.... Read more

Mary Troyan, USA TODAY -- A new law meant to pressure countries to return children abducted from the U.S. by a parent isn't being implemented properly, according to a Tennessee man whose ex-wife took the couple's children to Japan six years ago. Christopher Savoie, who lived in Franklin when his children were taken in 2009, told a House subcommittee on Thursday that State Department officials don't advocate aggressively enough for parents victimized in such scenarios. "Their primary mandate, as ... Read more

By Jerry Carlino APP STAFF WRITER - The fight against Lyme disease got a boost Tuesday with news that a key funding initiative cleared hurdles in the House of Representatives. A total of $5 million for Lyme disease research was included in the Department of Defense spending bill that passed the House appropriations committee. "The funding in the DOD bill will go a long way to find better treatments for the men and women in our military who have contracted Lyme," said Congressman Chris Smith (R-4... Read more