Rep. Peter G. Schweyer's Biography
Representative Peter G. Schweyer was first elected as State Representative in 2014, representing Lehigh County. He currently serves as Majority Chairperson of the House Education Committee, where he led the fight to create a fairer system of funding public schools in the Commonwealth.
This work earned the praise of Governor Josh Shapiro, who at a bill signing ceremony in his district, said this about Schweyer, "Democrats, Republicans, House members, Senate members, people inside government, and people outside government. And we came up with a plan through a commission led by Chairman Schweyer, and then ultimately through legislation."
In his role as Education Chair, Schweyer also crafted the biggest change to Pennsylvania’s system of higher education in nearly four decades, creating new scholarships and immediate new pathways to higher education while helping to control the cost of higher education in the long term through the creation of the State Board of Higher Education.
In addition to his work in education policy, Peter has authored legislation that has helped the Lehigh Valley’s craft beer, wine, and spirits industry grow, has fought to protect our community from gun violence, and has been a leader on renewable energy, specifically community solar. Lastly, having been appointed as a member of the bipartisan medical marijuana policy work group, he crafted Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law.
Schweyer served for nearly six years as a member of Allentown City Council, including a stint as Council President. His accomplishments there include reforming the city’s finances and pension, creating a highly successful gun buyback program, and crafting the city’s comprehensive anti-graffiti law.
Schweyer serves as a member of the PA Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and the PA State Board of Education. He has been appointed as a member of the National Conference of State Legislature’s Higher Education Task Force and is a member of the national group Education Commission of the States.
Lastly, Speaker Joanna McClinton also appointed Schweyer as Chair of the PA State House Ethics Committee.
He has received numerous awards from the PA School Boards’ Association, Penn State, the Literacy Center, Lehigh Valley Labor Council, and the PA Beer Alliance, to name a few. He was named a Trailblazer in Higher Education in 2024 by City and State Magazine and was named a 20 Under 40 by the East Penn Business Journal (now known as Lehigh Valley Business) in 2011.
He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married since 2005 and live in the same South Allentown home that they purchased a few months after they were married. They have two wonderful daughters, Sarah and Erin, both products of the Allentown Public School District. Sarah, a recent ASD graduate, attends Penn State, while Erin is in high school.
Peter attended Cathedral of St. Catherine of Sienna (Now St. John Vianney) and graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School. He then graduated from Penn State University with an Honors Degree in Political Science.
Schweyer is an avid Penn State Football fan, and (randomly) is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan. His hobbies include playing guitar, boating on the Lehigh River, and cooking.