Philippines Country Representative Joe Curry walks with Congressmen Al Green, Trent Franks, and Chris Smith through areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan during a congressional visit to Leyte, Philippines. Photo Credit: Kent Truog
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) and his bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) which traveled to the region devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally called Typhoon Yolanda, meeting with victims of the typhoon, emergency workers and U.S. and Filipino government officials, are set to depart the Philippines today.
“It’s mind numbing and heart numbing,” Smith said. “I’ve been to many places around the world when there have been catastrophic typhoons hurricanes, earthquakes and even more. It is powerful to witness the Filipino people’s resiliency in the face of devastation, in the face the loss of life.”
Smith, who is joined on the trip by Reps. Al Green (D-TX-09), and Trent Franks (R-AZ-08), saw for himself the typhoon’s devastation in Tacloban City and surrounding areas in Leyte.
Construction workers, borough council, Mayor Dempsey, Congressman Smith and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers toss the first official sand of a project that will ultimately see the pumping of 1.5 million tons of off-shore sand back onto the beach. Click on photo for larger view.
Manasquan, NJ. – The long-awaited $25 million beach southern Monmouth County replenishment project kicked off yesterday with a ground-breaking ceremony on Manasquan Beach. Hurricane Sandy caused severe beach erosion along this five-mile stretch, and this massive re-nourishment project to repair and restore the beach to better than pre-Sandy conditions starts tomorrow.
“I was here on this very beach in the days after the storm with Mayor Dempsey and his team and it was a near unimaginable scene of destroyed homes, broken gas lines and crumbled debris,” Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said. “The beach was gone. Today and over the next four months of this project, the Corps will rebuild these beaches and the lives of the people from Manasquan, as well as Sea Girt, Spring Lake, and Belmar.”
House passed bipartisan bill 354-72 eight months ago
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the eve of the first anniversary of the most powerful natural disaster to hit the Northeast, U.S. Cong. Chris Smith told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell the time has come for the U.S. Senate to act on a bipartisan bill passed by the House in February to help put houses of worship—many of which were severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy and yet continued to serve ravaged coastal communities—on the same playing field with other non-profit organizations seeking disaster assistance.
As talks continue about the situation in Syria, Congressman Chris Smith (R-4) wants the UN Security Council to establish a war crimes tribunal to hold President Bashar al Assad and others accountable for the use of chemical weapons. Smith told NJ Today…
FREEHOLD, N.J. – The Borough of Sea Girt in Monmouth County received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has awarded more than $1.6 million to help pay for costs that resulted from Superstorm Sandy, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today.
The grant will provide $1,616,817 in Federal funding to Sea Girt to pay for 90 percent of over $1,796,000 in repair costs incurred by Superstorm Sandy.
Reconstruction will take shape in two phases, after the completion of preliminary work of removing about 6,666 cubic yards of sand by municipal workers, and demolition of the damaged boardwalk by Frank Lurch Demolition. Demolition includes the removal of damaged but intact piles, girders, stringers, plastic decking, railings, and light fixtures. Salvageable decking, light fixtures and railings will be turned over to the town to be reused in the first phase of reconstruction. Sea Girt has contracted with Wallace Contracting, Inc. to complete Phase I, which is 833 linear feet of boardwalk, reusing 896 salvaged deck boards, 320 salvaged timber stringers and 900 feet of salvaged railing. Boardwalk steps and one handicap ramp will be installed, construction includes replacing 50 new, timber piles, 38 new double girder timber pile caps, 360 new timber stringers, 1,030 new lengths of composite boardwalk decking, and 980 feet of new pipe handrail.
Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) has proposed a solution to the use of chemical weapons in Syria that does not involve the United States bombing the country — the investigation and prosecution of those crimes against humanity.
Smith, New Jersey’s longest serving congressman and a well regarded champion of human rights, introduced a Concurrent Resolution last week that, if passed by both the House and Senate, would direct President Obama to work with the United Nations to set up a tribunal to investigate war crimes war crimes committed by the Syrian government and the rebel groups waging a civil war in the county.
In a interview with The Washington Post’sBrad Plumer, Smith, who has previously worked on war crimes tribunals involving Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, criticizes the Obama targeting “20 year-olds who might be on an air force base” rather the actual perpetrators of use of sarin gas against the Syria people, be it the Assad regime or the rebels.
A tribunal would be a non-lethal alternative to a bombing campaign — which no one knows how long it will last. During the House hearing [on Wednesday], I asked Secretary Kerry: How do you define “limited”? How do you define “short duration”? And he didn’t answer. There’s no sense that bombing will end this war. No one is even remotely suggesting that. And I’m equally concerned about a strike where there are consequences that have or haven’t been anticipated that could occur.
Smith said the tribunal should convene immediately and that there in no need to wait for the end of the Syrian civil war.
Smith said that he asked Secretary of State John Kerry at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee if the Obama administration had proof that the chemical weapons were deployed by the Assad regime. Kerry wouldn’t answer.
Smith said that he anticipated that Russia, China and the rest of the world community would support an investigative prosecutorial tribunal.
WASHINGTON, DC – “It has been five long months since the House overwhelmingly passed my legislation to ensure that houses of worship are no longer discriminated against under Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rules,” said Rep. Chris Smith, author of H.R. 592, the “Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013.”
“When a bill passes the House by such a strong, bipartisan margin of 354-72, it is hoped that the Senate will work aggressively to send it to the President’s desk. The legislation is desperately needed to put fairness back into our disaster relief programs.
“I welcome the bipartisan efforts of Senators Kirsten Gillebrand (D-NY) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) in their introduction of a Senate companion bill, S. 1274, this week and I am delighted and encouraged that New Jersey Sen. Jeff Chiesa has signed on as well. I am confident their leadership will help break the log jam and bring equity to the program.”
Smith, who has personally met with Senators Tom Carper and Tom Coburn, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, said that they each raised some concerns that Smith believed could be easily addressed in a bill markup session. Having a companion bill will hopefully help show support in the Senate and advance the issue. Smith also met with FEMA head Craig Fugate to discuss the bill and the current unfair treatment of houses of worship compared to other non-profits.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, left, and Congressman Chris Smith, center, meet with their staff members in Smith’s office on June 6, 2013
FEMA will be reimbursing New Jersey towns impacted by Superstorm Sandy 90% of their cleanup and rebuilding costs, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ4) announced on Tuesday evening.
The approval will provide an immediate and additional $262 million for already obligated funding and it will cover all additional local government approved funding. Funds will cover: Public Assistance Grant emergency work and permanent work including debris removal; emergency protective measures; road systems and bridges; water control facilities; buildings; contents and equipment; utilities, and; parks.
Non-conservatives sometimes get a little frustrated with conservatives for complaining about “media bias.” To be fair, I do think there’s something to be said for the fact that simply whining about how crappy the press can be isn’t an effective electoral strategy. Plenty of radio hosts make a living that way but it’s not helpful.
That doesn’t mean media bias isn’t a very real problem, and some instances of bias, however, are especially egregious. The complete mainstream media blackout surrounding the Dr. Kermit Gosnell trial across the Delaware River is one such instance, Save Jerseyans. The allegations in that trial — “43 criminal counts, including eight counts of murder” — are nightmarishly grizzly and reveal a completely non-sanitized account of abortion that many willfully-blind Americans need to see.
What Kirstin is apparently waking up to is the reality of a hyper-ideological press corps that lives by the doctrine of selective outrage. Reporting the news is a secondary objective for these people. Affecting their desired vision of “change” in society always takes primacy. In this case, abortion doesn’t offend them (most even see it as a sacred natural right). Private gun ownership does offend them (in case you hadn’t heard!). As a result, you can expect to see story after story lamenting isolated, statistically rare gun accidents but nothing in print about the alleged mass murder of infants.
Again, the media’s goal here isn’t to inform you. They’re trying to shape you.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaker of the House John Boehner has tasked Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and leader on many international human rights efforts, to lead the bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation to attend the investiture of former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis.
“It is an honor to lead this bipartisan group of House members to this international event,” said Smith, who chairs the House Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Subcommittee. “The world is a challenging place, in terms of wars and peace, basic human rights and freedoms. The Holy Father has a major role to play in global affairs. I wish him well as he begins his pontificate and am honored to be a part of this historic occasion. The Pope is more than a spiritual leader for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, he is an inspiration of holiness and goodness, and above all, the faithful proclamation of the Gospel.”
While in Rome, Smith plans to meet with Vatican officials to discuss human rights issues, including human trafficking, religious freedom and culture of life issues. He expects to meet with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State, The Vatican; Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Cardinal Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and two of the top U.S. prelates, New York City’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley.
In selecting Smith, Boehner said: “I’m pleased Congressman Smith and this bipartisan group of Members will join the Vice President in communicating the prayers and warm regards of the American people to Pope Francis as he begins his papacy.”
The Smith co-del to the Vatican will also include Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Sean Duffy (R-WI), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA).
FREEHOLD, N.J. – The Borough of Sea Girt in Monmouth County received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has awarded more than $1.6 million to help pay for costs that resulted from Superstorm Sandy, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today.
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