Bryan Dean Cutler (born April 2, 1975) is an American politician who is the
Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A
Republican, Cutler represents the
100th legislative district of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts.
It ...
. He was first elected in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, defeating incumbent
Gibson C. Armstrong.
He was elected House Majority Leader after the 2018 elections, and he became Speaker on June 22, 2020, after the resignation of
Mike Turzai.
Early life and career
Cutler was born in
Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania
Peach Bottom is an unincorporated village in Fulton Township, Lancaster County, in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. It lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River.
The original town of Peach Bottom was located across the river ...
and attended
Solanco High School.
He graduated from Lancaster School of Radiology in 1995 and earned a bachelor's degree from
Lebanon Valley College
Lebanon Valley College (LVC, Lebanon Valley, or The Valley) is a private college in Annville, Pennsylvania.
History
Lebanon Valley was founded on February 23, 1866, with classes beginning May 7 of that year and its first class graduating in 18 ...
in 2001.
He worked as an X-ray technologist at Lancaster Regional Medical Center and as a Manager of Support Services at
Lancaster General Hospital
Lancaster General Health is a regional hospital located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System
The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) is a major multi-hospital health system headquar ...
.
In 2006, he earned a J.D. degree with a certificate in health care from
Widener University School of Law
Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener ...
.
He served on the
Drumore Township Planning Commission and represented
Drumore Township in the Regional Planning Commission.
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
He was first elected in 2006, defeating incumbent
Gibson C. Armstrong, who voted against the controversial
2005 legislative pay raise. Despite his initial vote against the pay raise Armstrong later filed paperwork to receive it angering many of his constituents.
In 2014, in response to paychecks being subject to the state taking union dues from them, Cutler put forth a proposal to have this discontinued.
Cutler argued that the state ought to stay out of the handling of union dues because the state is aware that a certain percentage of union dues is used for political purposes including lobbying and paying for ads.
In 2015, Cutler voiced some of the worries he had about Governor Tom Wolf's proposed severance tax.
Cutler said, “If we’re gonna stunt the economic growth and future impact I think we have to consider that.”
Later in 2015, following the terror attacks in Paris, Cutler supported keeping Syrian refugees out of Pennsylvania.
Governor Tom Wolf's permitting of Syrian refugees into the state was criticized by Cutler and other Pennsylvania Republicans.
Cutler has said, “there is a real difference between those that seek peace and security and those that would use this opportunity to advance terrorism.”
In 2016, Cutler co-sponsored a memorandum in support of House Bill 1948, which was put forth by State Representative Kathy Rapp.
The bill's purpose was to make it so that abortions in Pennsylvania would only be permitted during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Cutler, along with Rapp and Representative Bryan Barbin, wrote in the memorandum that the bill would also put a stop to dismemberment being used as an abortion method.
Cutler supports the Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline passing through Lancaster County. Due to concerns involving private property and nature reserves, a request was made to have the pipeline re-routed.
However, believing that it would be less of a problem for roads, streams and properties, residents of Conestoga Township and Martic Township petitioned in favor of the first proposed route.
Cutler was given these petitions.
Cutler was against legalizing
medical cannabis
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restriction ...
in Pennsylvania and opposed a bill that would do so. He cited the illegal federal status under the
Controlled Substances Act
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances is regulated. It was passed by the 91st United States ...
, the opioid epidemic, and other concerns.
Cutler currently sits on the Committee On Committees and Rules committees.
References
External links
Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Bryan Cutlerofficial PA House website
Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus - Representative Bryan Cutlerofficial Party website
Elect Byran Cutler 100th District House of Representativesofficial campaign site
Bryan Cutler 100th District Candidate Pennsylvania House of Representativesarchived 2006 campaign site
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Bryan
1975 births
21st-century American politicians
Living people
Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Widener University alumni