Dennis Edward Eckart (born April 6, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. Eckart, a member of the Democratic Party, represented Ohio's 11th congressional district from 1983 to 1993, and Ohio's 22nd congressional district from 1981 to 1983. Before being elected to Congress, Eckart served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1975 to 1980. Early life and Career Born into a Roman Catholic family in Cleveland, Ohio, with two brothers Gary and Edward, Dennis Eckart attended St Joseph High School (now VASJ) and Xavier University, receiving his B.A. in 1971. He went on to earn an LL.B. from Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1974, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1974. Eckart began his law career practicing in Cleveland and served as the assistant prosecutor in the Lake County, Ohio prosecuting attorney's office. In 1974, he won a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served three terms from 1975 until 1980. From 1978 until 1982 he served as a vice-president of the Slovene National Benefit Society. United States House of Representatives In 1980, Eckart ran for the U.S. House to replace the vacant seat from retiring 13-term Congressman Charles Vanik. Eckart ran in Ohio's 11th congressional district, defeating State Senator Tim McCormack and State Representative Anthony O. Calabrese, Jr. with 40% of the vote in the Democratic primary. He went on to defeat Republican opponent Joseph Nahra with 55% of the vote in the general election. After the 1980 Census, Eckart's district was redrawn, moving him to Ohio's 22nd congressional district. The one-term Congressman defeated State Representative Marcus Roberto in the Democratic primary and Republican Glen W. Warner in the general election. Eckart served on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the House Committee on Small Business, where he served as Chairman of the Subcommittee for Antitrust, Deregulation and Ecology. During his tenure in the House, Eckart supported improving standards on environmental protection. He sponsored the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1983, a bill aimed to improve enforcement and greater protection for underground sources of drinking water. He also sponsored the Great Lakes Emergency Shoreline Protection Act, which would have started a federal guaranteed-loan program to provide for the protection from shoreline erosion of the Great Lakes. He