Smith is the representative for New Jersey’s 4th congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Jan 5, 1981. Smith is next up for reelection in 2020.
![Photo of Rep. Christopher “Chris” Smith [R-NJ4]](/static/legislator-photos/400380-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Smith.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Smith is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Smith has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to May 20, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Christopher “Chris” Smith sits on the following committees:
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House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations
- Member, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade
Enacted Legislation
Smith was the primary sponsor of 58 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 2200 (115th): Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018
- H.R. 390 (115th): Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018
- H.R. 6651 (115th): PEPFAR Extension Act of 2018
- H.R. 3655 (115th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1300 Main Street in Belmar, New Jersey, as the “Dr. Walter S. McAfee Post Office ...
- H.R. 4221 (115th): Kevin and Avonte’s Law of 2017
- H.R. 1150 (114th): Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act
- H.R. 6482 (114th): Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Smith sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
International Affairs (57%) Health (15%) Crime and Law Enforcement (9%)
Recent Bills
Some of Smith’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 2783: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for certain protections for ...
- H.R. 2435: Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act
- H.R. 2320: Walter Patterson and Werner Foerster Justice and Extradition Act
- H.R. 2285: Heidi’s Law
- H.R. 2122: Protect Our Workers Act
- H.R. 2077: Global Brain Health Act of 2019
- H.R. 2018: Equity for Disaster Victims Act of 2019
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1981 to May 2019, Smith missed 462 of 22,774 roll call votes, which is 2.0%. This is on par with the median of 2.1% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
- Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
