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 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.
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 2020 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, 2017 to Mar 3, 2021. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Cartwright was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- 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
- 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 (21%) Government Operations and Politics (14%) Energy (13%) Education (13%) Environmental Protection (12%) Armed Forces and National Security (11%) Labor and Employment (9%) Transportation and Public Works (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of Cartwright’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 1547: To improve the financial literacy of secondary school students.
- H.R. 1548: To establish a pilot program for native plant species, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 1220: To reauthorize the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, the Lackawanna Valley National ...
- H.R. 1106: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage ...
- H.R. 646: COVID–19 Mine Worker Protection Act
- H.R. 9057 (116th): To amend the Public Health Service Act to develop and test an ...
- H.R. 8934 (116th): Community Integration Act of 2020
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Mar 2021, Cartwright missed 89 of 4,755 roll call votes, which is 1.9%. 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.
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
