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 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. He is 61 years old.
He was previously the representative for Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district as a Democrat from 2013 to 2018.
![Photo of Rep. Matthew “Matt” Cartwright [D-PA8]](/static/legislator-photos/412571-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 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 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 3, 2019 to Mar 27, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Matthew “Matt” Cartwright sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
Cartwright was the primary sponsor of 9 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 9618 (117th): STREAM Act
- H.R. 8256 (117th): Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023
- H.R. 6482 (117th): Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022
- H.R. 4505 (117th): Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022
- H.R. 762 (116th): Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act
- H.R. 3122 (115th): Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017
- H.R. 4963 (115th): Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018
Does 9 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 (18%) Education (15%) Environmental Protection (14%) Armed Forces and National Security (11%) Energy (11%) Law (10%) Labor and Employment (10%) Government Operations and Politics (9%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Cartwright recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 1695: To improve the visibility, accountability, and oversight of agency software asset management practices, …
- H.R. 1540: National Flood Insurance Program Affordability Act
- H.R. 9618 (117th): STREAM Act
- H.R. 9619 (117th): To establish a pilot program for native plant species, and for other …
- H.R. 9617 (117th): To amend the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Improvement Act to …
- H.R. 9486 (117th): To extend the authority to reimburse members for spouse relicensing costs pursuant …
- H.R. 9379 (117th): VA Work-Study Improvement Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Mar 2023, Cartwright missed 122 of 5,857 roll call votes, which is 2.1%. This is on par with the median of 1.6% 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, major life events, and running for higher office.
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