Thomas Evert Petri (born May 28, 1940), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1979, representing Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District.

Born as Thomas Evert in Marinette, Wisconsin, his father was killed during World War II and he adopted the name Petri after his mother remarried when he was still a young child. He graduated from Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Petri then attended Harvard University where he received his bachelors of arts and law degrees. During 1966–1967, he worked with the Peace Corps and the United States Agency for International Development in Somalia.

Petri served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1973 to 1979, when he entered the House of Representatives. Petri is Vice Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee. Petri is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research, although he generally opposes abortion rights. Although he has also called for a moratorium on the death penalty, he has voted against other restrictions on it.

Republican Petri is generally viewed as a political centrist and is well known in Congress for his willingness to work with Democrats to address major issues. "Maybe I'm missing something," says Petri. "Sometimes I think you can be more effective by working with people."

One of Tom Petri's top priorities since coming to Congress has been to improve education and student loan and grant programs. As a member of the Education Committee in Congress he has introduced several bills to help students get access to low cost loans.

In 2006 Petri introduced the Student Aid Reward (STAR) Act which encourage colleges and universities to voluntarily participate in the more cost-effective student loan programs and retain $10 billion in savings for increased Pell Grant aid for their students. The legislation could boost Pell Grants by up to $800 per student while also devoting over $3 billion of the savings towards deficit reduction — at no additional cost to taxpayers.

Petri plans to reintroduce his Income-Dependent Education Assistance (IDEA) Act in the 110th Congress. IDEA streamlines student loan repayment through an improved income-contingent loan repayment with direct IRS collection.