Melissa A. Hart (born April 4, 1962) is an American politician who, since January 3, 2001, has served in the United States House of Representatives for the Fourth Congressional District of the state of Pennsylvania. A Republican, Hart became the first Republican woman in history to represent Pennsylvania at the federal level. Prior to her Congressional tenure, Hart served in the Pennsylvania State Senate where she chaired the finance committee.
Hart is an Italian-American, born in North Hills, Pennsylvania. She graduated from North Allegheny High School and Washington and Jefferson College before entering law school. After graduating the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and being admitted to the Bar, Hart joined a major Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania law firm.
She is Catholic and anti-abortion. She is firmly opposed to embryonic stem cell research; her opposition is unusual among her Congressional colleagues, in that she takes issue with the validity of the science itself, rather than questioning the morality of the science. In January 2006, she addressed an anti-abortion rally in Washington, D.C., urging young people who opposed abortion to enter public service.
In January 2001, Hart was elected to the House of Representatives from the Fourth District of the State of Pennsylvania. She was later appointed co-chair of the Platform Committee for the 2004 Republican National Convention.
Early in Hart's first term, she was saddled with an embarassing controversy for off-color remarks made to an African-American colleague in the House. New York Times journalist Mark Leibovich describes the exchange:
"Congressional staff members related an incident in 2001, in which they recalled the freshman Representative Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania, who is white, admonishing Representative Julia Carson, who is black, that the elevator they were riding on was members-only. Ms. Carson, of Indiana, proceeded to introduce herself to her new colleague, offense taken." Hart later apologized.
Under the guiding hand of United States Senator Bill Frist, Hart helped to craft the Republican Party platform of 2004. In 2005, Hart won an appointment on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Hart also played an active role in the race for majority leader in early 2006. As a top whip for the successful candidacy of Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), she worked to secure votes for him in the race. She was one of a handful of GOP members who have called for a full set of new leadership elections for whip, conference chair, and other offices below the majority leader position, but that motion narrowly failed the day before the majority leader race. Had this motion passed, Hart may very well have challenged Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) for House Republican Conference Chairman, the No. 4 leadership spot.
In December 2002, Hart was a candidate for Conference Vice-Chair, the No. 5 leadership spot, but lost to Jack Kingston (R-GA) by a vote of 159-56. Hart has been mentioned as candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 should Arlen Specter choose to retire.
Hart is adamantly opposed to federal funding for stem cell research. In June 2006, she indicated that it was her perception that "Hollywood" was responsible for public support of stem cell research and that "science created fraudulent experiments" to promulgate "the myth of a promise for embryonic stem cell research." After citing Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk to evidence the fraudulent "promise" of stem cell research, Mrs. Hart was rebuked by House colleague Diana DeGette, who pointed out that Dr. Suk's disgraced scientific assertions were in regard to embryonic cloning rather than stem cell research.
In late 2005, her House predecessor, Ron Klink, publicly mulled making a run for his old seat, which would have been a very competitive contest for Hart. However, in late December, Klink announced he was not a candidate. Hart will run against Democrat Jason Altmire in 2006.
