Chris Smith (politician)

Chris Smith

Christopher Henry "Chris" Smith (born March 4, 1953 in Rahway , New Jersey ) is an American politician . Since 1981 he has represented the fourth constituency of the state of New Jersey in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Chris Smith attended St. Mary's High School in Perth Amboy until 1971 . He then was at Trenton State College until 1975 . In 1974 he studied in the meantime at Worcester College of the University of Oxford . In the following years he worked in the sporting goods industry. Politically, he was originally a member of the Democratic Party . In 1978 he joined the Republicans . In 1978 he ran unsuccessfully for the US House of Representatives. In 1979 he worked for the New Jersey Legislature .

In the 1980 congressional elections , Smith was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the fourth constituency of New Jersey , where he succeeded Frank Thompson, who resigned on December 29, 1980, on January 3, 1981 . This was defeated in the election against Smith, which also had to do with a corruption affair in connection with the Abscam investigation by the FBI ; Thompson was sentenced to three years in prison in 1981.

After 19 re-elections so far, including the one in 2018, Chris Smith can still exercise his mandate in Congress to this day. His latest legislative term runs until the beginning of 2021. He is or was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as several sub-committees. Between 2001 and 2005 he was Chairman of the Veterans Committee. During his time as a congressman, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , the Iraq war and the military operation in Afghanistan fell . His primary focus is the fight against abortion . For years he has been supported in his election campaigns by the pro-life grouping National Right to Life Committee .

One of his political concerns in Congress was the passing of the so-called Global Online Freedom Act . This law on the freedom of internet traffic was introduced to Congress with the official House Resolution (HR) 491 on February 4, 2013, but was not passed during the legislative period of the 113th Congress .

Smith is married and lives privately in Hamilton , New Jersey.

Web links

Commons : Chris Smith  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Web presence at the congress
• Re-election 2016 at Ballotpedia

• Chris Smith in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Project Vote Smart: Representative Christopher H. 'Chris' Smith (NJ) - Interest Group Ratings