The nation’s top housing official gave New Jersey lawmakers “an iron-clad commitment ... to meet the housing needs of the victims of Sandy in New Jersey,” a congressman said Thursday. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan used the phrase “bedrock commitment” in pledging his department’s help during his meeting with nine New Jersey congressmen. “All unmet housing needs would be met in New Jersey,” Smith said Donovan told the lawmakers. Smith told Don... Read more

By Christopher Robbis/NJ.com staff -- Two Jersey Shore congressmen are asking the federal government to reinstate a “Coastal Crusader” program intended to keep beaches clean and safe. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith and U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reverse a decision to cancel its helicopter ocean monitoring program used to spot floating debris and pollution slicks from the air. “It’s not a good day for the Jersey Shore. I am disheartened that after all th... Read more

By Asbury Park Press reporter Dan Radel - It’s a lot closer to home than some may think: Human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery. “One of my recent cases was a labor trafficking case where somebody was working at a gas station. He was paid less than minimum wage, working 12- to 15-hour days, seven days a week and forced to live at a certain location,” said Detective Shawn Murphy of the Special Victims Bureau of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Murphy said the person was broug... Read more

WRITTEN BY SUSAN BLOOM, ASBURY PARK PRESS CORRESPONDENT -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, along with Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-PA, have proposed a bill that calls on the federal government to both engage in and lead a coordinated, international effort to address Alzheimer’s disease. House Resolution 489, introduced April 4, would help advance work for the treatment, prevention and ultimate cure of Alzheimer’s, as well as other forms of dementia. The bill represents the next step within an ongoing effort th... Read more

BY ASBURY PARK PRESS SENIOR REPORTER KIRK MOORE - Work is beginning on a new Army electronics research and aviation center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst — a $42 million project that will keep one of the last vestiges in New Jersey of the once-massive Fort Monmouth research complex. Six years in the making, the new home of the Communications and Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center will allow the Army to move people and helicopters out of an aging wooden blimp hangar bui... Read more

BY KIRK MOORE, Asbury Park Press Staff -- Five Republican congressmen from New Jersey on Wednesday asked to meet with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to discuss the long time lags in delivering post-superstorm Sandy rebuilding aid to homeowners — and rumors that a third round of funding could be cut. High on the list of concerns is the time it takes to complete “duplication of benefits analysis” — a lengthy accountability system that HUD requires to make ... Read more

The rate for childhood autism in the U.S. has risen to a stunning one in 68, according to statistics released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In New Jersey the rate is even higher —one in 45. And the rate is four times higher among boys than girls. What’s going on here? Why has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) become a worldwide pandemic? Why is the incidence growing? In 1980, only three out of 10,000 children were diagnosed with the condition. While heightened aw... Read more

(MY9NJ) - Yesterday was World Autism Day and in the spirit of driving awareness to this disease, there were many events taking place across the Garden State that aimed to get more support for treatment and stability options for those who suffer from this developmental issue. Congressman Chris Smith hosted an event in Ocean Township to promote awareness for this important cause. The event was held at the Search Day School, founded in 1971 as the first school in New Jersey that focused specificall... Read more

By Asbury Park Press reporter Carol Gorga Williams -- U.S. Rep. Chris H Smith, R-NJ, long an advocate for study and services for the state's surging autism population, this afternoon pledged before parents and other advocates to make every effort to see that autism funding, set to expire this year, will be re-authorized. On the eve of World Autism Day — and surrounded by other parents of children with autism at Search Day Academy in Ocean Township, Smith recalled those early days when he lobbied... Read more

By Asbury Park Press Reporter Carol Gorgo Williams -- Back in 1997, Bobbie and Billy Gallagher of Brick knew there was something different with their young daughter Alanna, and when she was three, they had the diagnosis: autism. When their son Austin was 16 months, they knew the same was true for him. And then they started realizing how many other kids in their community and elsewhere were being diagnosed with autism. Armed with a spreadsheet, the housewife and her fisherman husband marched into... Read more