Congressman Dwight Evans represents Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Northwest and West Philadelphia and parts of North, South and Center City Philadelphia. He was first elected in a special election in November 2016. Before that, he served as a state representative for 36 years, and earned a reputation as a pragmatic leader who knows how to put public policy above politics and make ideas matter. He made history in 1990 when he became the first African-American chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a position he held for two decades.
Throughout his public service career, Congressman Evans has worked tirelessly to expand and broaden access to economic and educational opportunities for all Philadelphians. He currently serves on the influential Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Social Security, Medicare, taxes and trade. In his first term, he had one of his bills passed and signed into law, a true accomplishment for a freshman in the minority party. That law is designed to reduce costs for small business owners who apply for a loan through the Small Business Administration. He also hosted a roundtable in Philadelphia on small business issues with then Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee, Nydia Velazquez.
In his first term, he also supported a criminal justice reform bill which became law, the First Step Act. His efforts also included hosting a roundtable on the subject in Philadelphia with then Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler. Congressman Evans is also a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
As part of the House Democratic majority that served from 2019 to 2022 and in the current Congress, Congressman Evans continues to work to advance priorities such as protecting health care and reducing health disparities, and advocate for gun reform, criminal justice reform and economic development, including supporting small businesses.
A longtime resident of the West Oak Lane neighborhood, he is a graduate of Germantown High School, the Community College of Philadelphia and LaSalle University. Congressman Evans will keep working to rebuild Philadelphia, and America, block by block!