Chris Smith

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Chris Smith currently serves the 4th Congressional district of New Jersey

Christopher Henry Smith, a Republican, has represented the Fourth Congressional District of New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1980. (map)

Record and controversies

General information about important bills and votes for can be found in Congresspedia's articles on legislation. You can add information you find on how Chris Smith voted by clicking the "[edit]" link to the right and typing it in. Remember to cite your sources!

Iraq War

Smith voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Bio

Background

Smith was born March 4, 1953 in Rahway, New Jersey. The former owner of a sporting goods company, first ran for Congress in 1978, but was routed by Democratic incumbent Frank Thompson, Jr.

In 1980, however, Thompson was ensnared in the Abscam scandal, and Smith ran against him again. This was enough to sweep Smith into office. He faced a tough challenge for a second term, but hasn't faced a well-funded opponent since then.

Congressional Career

Smith's voting record is moderate, aside from a strong stance against abortion. He is the Co-Chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. In a January 22, 2004 press release [1] Smith stated, "Americans want the abortion holocaust to end," and referred to abortion as "child slaughter."

Unlike most Republicans, Smith has strong ties to organized labor. Following representation from many Irish-Americans, Smith wrote legislation prohibiting the Royal Ulster Constabulary from training in the United States because of alleged humans rights abuses. Critics of Smith's law state that if the Royal Ulster Constabulary were provided with American training, human rights abuses could have been avoided. Nonetheless, in December 2001 the Bush administration declared the Police Service of Northern Ireland (which replaced the RUC) met reasonable human rights standards, and the prohibition was lifted. Smith has spoken critically of the British Inquiries Act 2005, which he believes will allow the British government to prevent effective inquiries into British army collusion with unionist paramilitaries in Ireland.

In 2004, Smith easily defeated Democrat Amy Vasquez for his 13th 2-year term.

In 1982, Smith faced his toughest reelection campaign when he was challenged by former New Jersey State Senate President Joseph P. Merlino. At the end of one of their debates, Smith approached Merlino to exchange pleasantries, Merlino was quoted as saying "Beat it, kid." Smith won the election with 53% of the vote.[2]

2006 elections

In 2006, the Democrats nominated Carol E. Gay to face Smith in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [3] Smith retained his seat.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. <crpcontribdata>cid=N00009816&cycle=2006</crpcontribdata>

Links to more campaign contribution information for Chris Smith from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile:	2006 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation:	2006 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by industry:	2006 election cycle	Career totals

• Revolving door profile for Chris Smith from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for Chris Smith from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for Chris Smith from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

• House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations -Ranking
• Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

• House Committee on International Relations
  • Subcommittee on Africa Global Human Rights and International Operations - Chair
  • Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

Coalitions and Caucuses

• Co-Chair, Coalition for Autism Research and Education (CARE)
• Chair, Commision on Security and Cooperation in Europe
• Co-Chair, Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease
• Co-Chairman, House Pro-Life Caucus
• Congressional Automotive Caucus
• Congressional Coastal Caucus
• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional Human Rights Caucus
• Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus
• Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus
• Minor Leauge Baseball Caucus
• Older Americans Caucus

Boards and other Affiliations

• New Jersey Right to Life Committee, Inc. -- Executive Director, 1976-1978

More Background Data

• Background information on Chris Smith from Project Vote Smart

• Interest group scorecard ratings for Chris Smith from Project Vote Smart

• Voting record for Chris Smith from the Washington Post database

• Information on Chris Smith from Congress Merge

Wikipedia also has an article on Chris Smith. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Contact

DC Office:
2373 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3004
Phone: 202-225-3765
Fax: 202-225-7768
Web Email
Website

District Office - Hamilton:
1540 Kuser Road
Suite A-9
Hamilton, NJ 08619
Phone: 609-585-7878
TTYD Number: 609-585-3650
Fax: 609-585-9155

District Office - Whiting:
108 Lacey Road, Suite 38A
Whitting Shopping Center
Whiting, NJ 08759
Phone: 732-350-2300
Fax: 732-350-6260

Articles and resources

Resources

• Official website
• bioguide.congress.gov article on Chris Smith
• Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Related SourceWatch articles

• Freedom's Watch

Local blogs and discussion sites

• Blue Jersey

Corresponding article on Wikipedia and Cause Caller. (If Cause Caller link does not work, pick from its list of senators and representatives.)

Current Office: U.S. House of Representatives
111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:
110th Congress
Leadership Position: None	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses: Co-Chairman, House Pro-Life Caucus; Congressional Automotive Caucus; Congressional Coastal Caucus; Congressional Fire Services Caucus; Congressional Human Rights Caucus; Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus; Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus; Minor Leauge Baseball Caucus; Older Americans Caucus
Committees: House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Foreign Affairs/Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, House Committee on Foreign Affairs/Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office: November 4, 1980	First Took Current Office: January 3, 1981	Next Election: November 2, 2010	Term Ends:
Freshman Member? No	Previous Political Work? None or Not Available,	Other Party Membership:
District Offices:
1. 1540 Kuser Road, Suite A-9, Hamilton, NJ 08619 Phone: 609-585-7878, 609-585-3650 / Fax: 609-585-9155 2. 108 Lacey Road, Suite 38A, Whitting Shopping Center, Whiting, NJ 08759 Phone: 732-350-2300 / Fax: 732-350-6260
Campaign Contact:
Website: Webform Email: / Email: Campaign Offices: 1. Phone: / Fax:
Zip Code Affiliations:
Misc:
Date of Birth: March 4, 1953