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 Mar 18, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Christopher “Chris” Smith sits on the following committees:
-
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 (55%) Health (17%) Crime and Law Enforcement (10%)
Recent Bills
Some of Smith’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 1811: To require an unclassified interagency report on the political influence operations of the ...
- H.R. 1542: To require a report that identifies each person in the People’s Republic of ...
- H.Res. 167: Recognizing the rise of cardiovascular disease as the world’s leading cause of preventable ...
- H.R. 1427: To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for priority for making ...
- H.R. 1383: Vietnam Human Rights Act
- H.R. 1058: Autism CARES Act of 2019
- H.R. 1107: Give Judge Venckiene Her Day in Court Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Smith’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Nay |
S. 2322: CURD Act
Dec 20, 2018. Failed 230/162.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 6157: Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019
Sep 26, 2018. Passed 361/61.
H.R. 6157 provides $674.6 billion in total discretionary budget authority for the Department of Defense for fiscal year (FY) 2019. The bill provides $606.5 billion for the Department of Defense base budget, which is an increase of $17.1 billion above FY18 levels, and $68.1 billion ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 2: Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018
May 18, 2018. Failed 198/213.
See the Congressional Research Service's 122-page summary of the bill. * * * H.R. 2 amends and extends major programs for income support, food and nutrition, land conservation, trade promotion, rural development, research, forestry, horticulture, and other miscellaneous programs administered by the Department of Agriculture ... |
| No |
S. 140: A bill to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT Settlement Fund.
Jan 10, 2018. Passed 239/173.
The Rules Committee Print includes the text of S. 140, to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT Settlement Fund, S. 249, a bill to provide that the pueblo of Santa ... |
| Yea |
H.R. 1039: Probation Officer Protection Act of 2017
May 19, 2017. Passed 229/177.
H.R. 1039 amends the federal criminal code to authorize a probation officer to arrest a person, without warrant, if there is probable cause to believe that person forcibly assaulted or obstructed a probation officer while performing their official duties. The bill also would direct the ... |
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 43: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating ...
Feb 16, 2017. Passed 230/188.
Joe Biden never got the opportunity to break a single 50-50 Senate tie in eight years as vice president. Mike Pence has already broken two. One from last month has since become law: a measure allowing states to withhold federal Planned Parenthood funding. (The other ... |
| No |
H.R. 2146: Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act
Jun 18, 2015. Passed 218/208.
This vote made H.R. 2146 the vehicle for passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal currently being negotiated. H.R. 2146 was originally introduced as a bill to address issues with retirement funds of federal law enforcement officers and firefighters. ... |
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
|
| Nay |
S. 1603 (113th): Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act
Sep 16, 2014. Passed 359/64.
|
| No |
H.R. 6233 (112th): Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012
Aug 2, 2012. Passed 223/197.
|
| Aye |
H.R. 1249 (112th): Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
Jun 23, 2011. Passed 304/117.
The Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a United States federal statute that was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant legislative change to the U.S. patent system since the ... |
Missed Votes
From Jan 1981 to Mar 2019, Smith missed 461 of 22,678 roll call votes, which is 2.0%. This is on par with the median of 2.0% 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
