It's not just Stephen Colbert who likes Rep. Matt Cartwright

Rep. Matt Cartwright is the bright, new face representing a chunk of the northeastern part of the state officially known as Pennsylvania's 17^th District. Matt was elected to Congress last November, after having defeated long-time incumbent Tim Holden in the primary a year ago.

Safe to say PennFuture is a-lovin' what Matt's a-doin'. He's a breath of fresh air (you'll see in a moment why I chose these adjectives), already standing up for clean air, clean water, and climate stability across our beloved state and nation.

Five reasons we're cheering for Matt:

1. He has introduced the FRESHER Act (H.R. 1175) to close a loophole in the Clean Water Act that had exempted oil and gas industries when it came to certain stormwater permits.
2. He is co-sponsoring another importantbill aimed at cracking down on irresponsible fracking, the BREATHE Act (H.R. 1154), closing a loophole in the Clean Air Act. (Seriously, is there no end to loopholes granted to the fossil fuels industry?)
3. Only a few weeks after being sworn in, Matt rocked the Capitol, or at least made this blogger's week, by speaking forcefully on the House floor on the need to pass climate legislation. W00T!
4. Matt was elected Freshman Class President by his fellow newbie House members. Makes me so gosh-darned proud of my fellow Pennsylvanian!
5. Finally, Matt did a great job holding his own when interviewed by Stephen Colbert last month. Arguably, that's his toughest deliverable to date.

Thanks, Matt. Keep up the great work!