Cartwright is the representative for Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2019. Cartwright is next up for reelection in 2020.
He was previously the representative for Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district as a Democrat from 2013 to 2018.
![Photo of Rep. Matthew Cartwright [D-PA8]](/static/legislator-photos/412571-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Cartwright.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Cartwright 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 Cartwright has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Apr 18, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Matthew Cartwright sits on the following committees:
-
House Committee on Appropriations
- Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Member, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
- Member, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies
- House Committee on Natural Resources
Enacted Legislation
Cartwright was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 3122: Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017
- H.R. 4963: Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018
- H.R. 1701 (115th): EGO Act
- H.R. 4904 (114th): MEGABYTE Act of 2016
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
Cartwright sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (17%) Armed Forces and National Security (16%) Education (15%) Government Operations and Politics (14%) Energy (11%) Environmental Protection (10%) Finance and Financial Sector (8%) Labor and Employment (8%)
Recent Bills
Some of Cartwright’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 2212: Structured Settlement Claimants Rights Act of 2019
- H.R. 2156: RECLAIM Act of 2019
- H.R. 1607: Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2019
- H.R. 1243: Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Act of 2019
- H.R. 882: Time Off to Vote Act
- H.R. 762: Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act of 2019
- H.R. 7299 (115th): ASSURE Act of 2018
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Cartwright’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| 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. 4667: Making further supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, for disaster assistance for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and calendar year 2017 wildfires, ...
Dec 21, 2017. Passed 251/169.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 2396: Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act
Dec 14, 2017. Passed 275/146.
|
| 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 ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 1695: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017
Apr 26, 2017. Passed 378/48.
This bill would change the appointment process for the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, known as the Register of Copyrights. Currently the Register of Copyrights is hired by the Librarian of Congress (who is the head of the Library of Congress). This bill would ... |
| No |
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 |
S. 612: A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 1300 Victoria Street in Laredo, Texas, as the “George P. Kazen Federal Building ...
Dec 8, 2016. Passed 360/61.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 308: Keep the Promise Act of 2015
Nov 16, 2015. Failed 263/146.
|
| No |
H.R. 3038: Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, Part II
Jul 15, 2015. Passed 312/119.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 2048: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015
May 13, 2015. Passed 338/88.
The USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23) is a U.S. law enacted on June 2, 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of the Patriot Act, which had expired the day before. The act imposes some new limits on the bulk collection of ... |
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Apr 2019, Cartwright missed 58 of 3,906 roll call votes, which is 1.5%. 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
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
