Charlie Dent

Charles Wieder "Charlie" Dent (born May 24, 1960) is the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Dent was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the son of Marjorie L. (née Wieder) and Walter R. Dent. He is of German, English, and Irish descent. Dent is a 1978 graduate of Allentown's William Allen High School. He received a bachelor's in International Politics from Pennsylvania State University in 1982 and a masters in Public Administration from Lehigh University in 1993. He is a member of Phi Kappa Psi and previously worked as a development officer for Lehigh University, an industrial electronics salesman, a hotel clerk, and an aide to U.S. Representative Donald L. Ritter.

Before being elected to the United States Congress, Dent was a member of the State Legislature for 14 years. He represented Pennsylvania's 132nd house district from 1991-99 after unseating Democratic incumbent Jack Pressman in a heavily Democratic district in 1990.

In 1998, Dent won an open 16th District Senate seat when Democrat Roy Afflerbach (who later served as Mayor of Allentown from 2002–06) retired to take up an ultimately unsuccessful bid for Congress.

Elections

Dent was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004, succeeding Pat Toomey, who gave up his seat to challenge Arlen Specter for the U.S. Senate. He defeated Democrat Joe Driscoll 59%–39%.

2006

He won re-election 54%–44% against Charles Dertinger.

2008

He won re-election 59%–41% against Allentown Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bennett.

2010

Dent won re-election against Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan with 54% of the vote, the smallest percent of the vote he received in his four elections.

2012

Dent defeated Democrat Rick Daugherty, the Chairman of the Lehigh County Democratic Party, 57%–43%.

Tenure

Play media

Rep. Charles Dent, R-PA, introduces legislation (HR 1254) to ban the ingredients found in synthetic marijuana Dec. 7, 2011, on the House floor. The House passed the legislation Dec. 8, 2011. Video:C-SPAN

Dent is a proponent of hydrogen fuel and is one of the four founding members of the House Hydrogen Fuel Cell Caucus. In 2006 he proposed legislation aimed at promoting the rollout of commercial hydrogen fueling stations.

He has spoken of his vision for the development of a "Hydrogen Highway East", similar to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans for a Hydrogen Highway on the West Coast. Dent is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership. In 2007 he was elected to co-chair the Tuesday Group, a centrist organization of Congressional Republicans.

As a Republican representing a district with Democratic leanings, he sometimes crosses party lines on legislation. In December 2010, Dent was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly gay service members.

Dent is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act

He voted against Federal intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. Dent opposed government intervention in a personal matter and has said he would have voted the same way had courts sided with Schiavo's parents.

In April 2010, Dent introduced a resolution urging the U.S. State Department to issue a Certificate of Loss of Nationality to Anwar al-Awlaki. He said al-Awlaki "preaches a culture of hate" and had been a functioning member of al-Qaeda "since before 9/11", and had effectively renounced his citizenship by engaging in treasonous acts.

In April 2011, Dent voted in favor of a 2012 budget proposal authored by Paul Ryan entitled The Path to Prosperity, which included several controversial changes to both health care and tax policy. Dent said of the bill that, "It's a serious, sober document ... There are some things in there that I think are interesting."

In January 2012, Dent co-sponsored the Enemy Expatriation Act with Senator Joe Lieberman. The proposal would allow the United States government to strip U.S. citizens of their citizenship without requiring that the citizen have been convicted of a crime.

At the start of the 112th Congress, Dent received a new position on the coveted House Appropriations Committee, and continues to serve on the House Ethics Committee. In June 2013, Dent decided to co-sponsor the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA), a bill that would require schools and districts to adopt policies specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment against all students, including LGBT young people. Dent is known for his efforts to promote LGBT equality throughout the nation.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Chairman, United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
  • Vice Chairman, United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
• Chairman United States House Committee on Ethics

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Arts Caucus
• Congressional Cement Caucus, Co-Chair

• "Pennsylvania Election Results". The New York Times. 
• "House Races". The New York Times. Retrieved November 12, 2016. 
• 2014 Election Results Senate: Live Map by State, Midterm Midterm Races Races, Politico.com; accessed November 12, 2016.
• Chris Geidner, House Passes DADT Repeal Bill, Metro Weekly (December 15, 2010).
• House Vote 638 – Repeals 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', The New York Times, December 15, 2010.
• "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2008-08-07. 
• Levine, Mike (April 22, 2010). "Rep. Introduces Resolution to Strip Radical Cleric of US Citizenship". Fox News Covers Congress. Fox News. Retrieved May 12, 2010. 
• Miller, Sean J.; D'Aprile, Shane (April 26, 2011). "Vulnerables offer praise for Ryan plan". Ballot Box: The Hill's Campaign Blog. The Hill. Retrieved August 5, 2011. 
• New Bill Known As Enemy Expatriation Act Would Allow Government To Strip Citizenship Without Conviction, Addictinginfo.org, January 6, 2012.
• Middleton, Josh (June 17, 2013). "Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent to co-sponsor LGBT-specific anti-bullying Bill". Philly Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2013. 

In 2014, Dent introduced a bill to give states more flexibility in how they provide health insurance to children from families between 100 and 133 of the federal poverty level, according to The Ripon Advance.

The Next Generation Choices Foundation selected Dent to be the Elsie Hillman Speaker at their annual National Cancer Prevention Day event in 2016 in recognition of his efforts to support legislation related to cancer prevention.

Dent is married to Pamela Jane Serfass and has three children.