Over thirty years ago, a young Chris Smith could never have fathomed the long journey down the road that would lead to the House of Representative in Congress. As a boy growing up in New Jersey, he had an affinity for boats and his greatest aspirations were to be a Navy man or work for the Coast Guard. Yet fate had visions unimaginable to the Jersey youngster. Today, Congressman Smith reflects on his early days as a tenacious young man determined to make his way through the swift waters of polit... Read more

The following op-ed was written by Cong. Chris Smith for Fox News.com: A silent plague is afflicting our country. As if out of a horror movie, our children are disappearing one by one from our communities, families, and homes—1,492 disappeared in 2010 alone. More than 2,200 are missing today, right now, perhaps from your city, certainly from your state. Like a casualty by friendly fire, the fact that the kidnappers are family members and former spouses only compounds the harm. International chi... Read more

When Rep. Chris Smith takes on an issue on behalf of his constituents, he is tenacious. And he gets things done. The latest example was seen last week with the passage of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act, a bill that authorizes $693 million in spending on autism research over the next three years. It is a big sum, and badly needed. Autism has become an epidemic in this country, and New Jersey is particularly vulnerable. About 1 in 110 children nationally and 1 in 94 in New Jersey have an... Read more

Former North Korean political prisoners recalled the suffering they endured in labor camps in testimony before a congressional panel on Tuesday, and called on U.S. lawmakers to help end human rights abuses in the country. Meanwhile, a North Korea expert testified to what he called “intensified political repression” in the isolated Stalinist state. Kim Hye Sook, who escaped from North Korea in 2009 and now lives in South Korea, said she was “dragged” to political prison camp no. 18 of the Bukchan... Read more

(WPVI) - FEMA officials were in Mercer County, New Jersey to assess the damage done by Hurricane Irene. They walked and talked one-on-one with Hamilton Township residents whose homes were ruined by the flood waters. Many of those homes are now unlivable. In the Cornell Heights section, public works crews were hauling away ruined furniture and filling dumpster after dumpster with debris. The area was flooded with several feet of water when the Assunpink Creek overflowed during Hurricane Irene. (C... Read more

The following article appeared in the Asbury Park Press: Federal and local officials pledged Tuesday to help the residents of Mariners Cove, whose homes were badly damaged in Sunday’s storm. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J, and several municipal officials visited the residents Tuesday to assess the impact of the storm and to hear their stories. They were greeted by frustrated homeowners who expressed concern about their ability to afford the clean up of their homes, worry that they would have a hard tim... Read more

This article appeared in the Thursday, Aug. 25 edition of the Coast Star: According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the population with Alzheimer’s disease is steadily growing — the association estimates 5.4 million Americans currently have the disease, and that number could grow to 16 million by 2050. In January, the National Alzheimer’s Project Act [NAPA] was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. Under the law, a strategic, national plan will be creat... Read more

Published in the Wall Patch: Education on the causes, treatments and strategies for caring for people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease was the main suggestion from a group of concerned caregivers assembled at Town Hall Tuesday. The meeting was called as an information-gathering session while crafting a national Alzheimer’s plan following the passage by Congress earlier this year of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, signed by President Barak Obama in January. The law aims to create a natio... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) was the guest on C-SPAN's national Sunday morning program, "Newsmakers" with host Greta Brawner. The crisis in Sudan and Somalia, as well as the hopes and prospects of treatment of children in the U.S. and around the world who suffer from hydrocephalus (often called "water on the brain") with a new procedure developed by an American doctor from Boston Children's Hospital, were the topics Smith discussed with Brawner and journalists Shaun Tandon of AFP and Howard L... Read more

(AFP) – July 28, 2011 The United States pressed Japan to let parents see children snatched by estranged partners, saying it would not tolerate loopholes as Tokyo moves to resolve the longtime source of tension. Western nations have voiced concern for years over citizens' struggles to see their half-Japanese children. When international marriages break up, Japanese courts virtually never grant custody to foreign parents, especially men. Hoping to ease a rift with allies, Prime Minister Naoto Kan ... Read more