CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

U.S. State Representative Charlie Dent, R-15th, was sworn in Jan. 6 for the 114th Congress.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to once again represent the people of the 15th Congressional District in Congress," Dent said. "I look forward to carrying their voice to Washington and working to find real solutions to the challenges facing our nation."

Dent will be taking on major new duties in the 114th Congress. He'll be serving as the chairman of the ethics committee and as the chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veteran affairs.

"Serving as the chairman of the military construction and veterans affairs subcommittee will give me a great opportunity to help veterans and those currently serving in the armed forces, not only in my district and in the Commonwealth, but across the whole country. I'm excited to tackle this important responsibility," Dent said.

Dent also stated his strong hope there will be a diminishment in the partisan rancor of the previous Congress.

"I strongly believe this Congress can and should address major areas, such as tax reform, transportation and trade, where there is bipartisan agreement," Dent said. "My sincere hope is both parties have learned important lessons from the brinksmanship and rancor of 2013 and 2014 and that pragmatism, commonsense and collaboration will serve as the basis for how Congress conducts business in 2015," Dent concluded.