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 Sep 16, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Matthew Cartwright sits on the following committees:
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House Committee on Appropriations
- Vice Chair, 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
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House Committee on Natural Resources
- Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
- Member, Subcommittee on For Indigenous Peoples of the United States
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
Does 4 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
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 (15%) Education (14%) Government Operations and Politics (14%) Environmental Protection (13%) Energy (12%) Labor and Employment (7%) Transportation and Public Works (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of Cartwright’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 4347: To enhance the Federal Government’s planning and preparation for extreme weather and the ...
- H.R. 4248: Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2019
- H.R. 4006: Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2019
- H.R. 4007: FRESHER Act of 2019
- H.R. 3737: Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2019
- H.R. 3506: To ensure that the percentage increase in rates of basic pay for prevailing ...
- H.R. 3463: Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Sep 2019, Cartwright missed 72 of 4,270 roll call votes, which is 1.7%. 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.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.
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
