Former member of Congress · last served 115th Congress
Charles W. Dent
Charles Dent was a Republican U.S. representative from Pennsylvania, first elected to Congress in 2005, who voted with most Republicans on 86% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 1 bill that became law (113th–115th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- YeaOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.R. 1002 National Heritage Area Act of 2017Jul 25, 2018 · ASSUMING FRIST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. McKinley asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be the first sponsor of H.R. 1002, a bill originally introduced by…
- H.Res. 282 Supporting State, local, and community initiatives to encourage parents, teachers, camp counselors, and childcare professionals to take measures to prevent…Jun 5, 2018 · ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Joyce asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the primary sponsor of H.Res 282, a bill originally…
- H.R. 548 Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act of 2017May 21, 2018 · ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Kelly (PA) asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the primary sponsor of H.R. 548, a bill originally…
- H.R. 5505 Special Counsel Independence and Integrity ActMay 15, 2018 · ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Lance asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 5505, a bill originally…
- H.R. 1017 Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2017May 15, 2018 · ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Lance asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 1017, a bill originally…
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 2490 (109th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 442 West Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania, as the "Mayor Joseph S. Daddona…Became law
- H.R. 4786 (109th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 535 Wood Street in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as the "H. Gordon Payrow Post Office…Became law
- H.R. 2029 (114th) Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016Became law
- H.R. 6223 (112th) To amend section 1059(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 to clarify that a period of employment abroad by the Chief of Mission…Became law
- H.Con.Res. 165 (110th) Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Driver Safety Week.Passed a chamber
- H.R. 1333 (110th) To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the use of Civil Air Patrol personnel and resources to support homeland security…Passed a chamber
- H.R. 1178 (111th) To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the use of Civil Air Patrol personnel and resources to support homeland security…Passed a chamber
- H.R. 3537 (114th) Dangerous Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2016Passed a chamber
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Dent has won
Rep. Dent has won 7 U.S. House elections (2004–2016). Of the contested races, margins ran from 10.1 to 20.4 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has Pennsylvania’s 15th district done while Rep. Dent served?
2005 to 2011 in PA-15: typical household income was down 8% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 3.6 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 2.4 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Pennsylvania’s 15th district during Dent’s time representing it (2005 to 2018). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. PA-15 was redrawn in 2012, 2018 and again in 2022, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2005 to 2011 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 2005 to 2018.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
115th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 10 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 10 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 8 | See the 8 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a committee report listed | 2 | See the 2 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 115th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.