William Floyd Clinger Jr. (April 4, 1929 – May 28, 2021) was an American attorney and Republican politician who represented northwest and north-central Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1997.
William Clinger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the House Oversight Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | John Conyers |
| Succeeded by | Dan Burton |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Ammerman |
| Succeeded by | John Peterson |
| Constituency | 23rd district (1979–1993) 5th district (1993–1997) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Floyd Clinger Jr. April 4, 1929 Warren, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 28, 2021 (aged 92) Naples, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Julia Whitla
(m. 1952; died 2016) |
| Education | Johns Hopkins University (BA) University of Virginia (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1951–1955 |
Early life and education
editClinger was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, the son of Lella May (Hunter) and William F. Clinger.[1][2][3] He attended the public schools there and graduated from The Hill School in 1947.[4] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1951 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Virginia in 1965.
Career
editClinger served as an officer in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1955. He was a delegate to the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention, 1967 to 1968, and the Republican National Convention in 1972.[5] Clinger was associated with the New Process Company of Warren, Pennsylvania from 1955 to 1962, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1965, and was a lawyer in private practice.[6]
U.S. House of Representatives
editDefeating incumbent Representative Joseph S. Ammerman, Clinger was elected as a Republican to the 96th and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1997). While in the House of Representatives, he was chairman of the United States House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight[7] in the 104th Congress, which was quite active in investigating the Travelgate and Filegate matters.[8][9] In addition, he served as vice chairman of the United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and ranking member on the Subcommittee on Aviation.[4] Along with then-Senator William Cohen, Clinger co-authored the Information Technology Management Reform Act, also known as the Clinger-Cohen Act.[10] He was not a candidate for re-election to the 105th Congress in 1996.
Later life
editAfter his retirement from Congress, Clinger served as the chairman for the Chautauqua Institution's board of trustees.[4][5] He was a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Advanced Governmental Studies [10][7] and co-chairman of the board of directors for the Institute for Representative Government.[11] He was also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.[12]
In October 2016, Clinger was one of thirty Republican ex-lawmakers to sign a public letter condemning GOP presidential nominee (and future president) Donald Trump[9] as "manifestly unqualified to be president."[8] Clinger died at the age of 92 on May 28, 2021.[13]
References
edit- ^ Onofrio, Jan (January 1999). Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary. ISBN 9780403099504.
- ^ "Lineage Book". 1931.
- ^ Riesenman, Joseph (1943). "History of Northwestern Pennsylvania: Comprising the Counties of Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Warren, Forest, Clarion, McKean, Elk, Jefferson, Cameron and Clearfield".
- ^ a b c Congressional Record, V. 151, PT. 17, October 7 to 26, 2005. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 2010. p. 23013. ISBN 9780160848254. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
- ^ a b Trefts, Deborah (August 2, 2016). "William Clinger, Jr. Discusses Political Polarity for Chautauqua Women's Club". The Chautauquan Daily. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ "CLINGER, William Floyd, Jr., (1929 - )". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ a b "William Clinger, Adjunct Faculty". Johns Hopkins University. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
- ^ a b Bash, Dana; Kopan, Tal (October 6, 2016). "30 Former GOP Lawmakers Sign Anti-Trump Letter". CNN. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ a b Fitzgerald, Thomas (October 6, 2016). "Former Pa. Rep. Who Investigated Clinton Scandals Opposes Trump". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ^ a b Wong, Wylie (February 10, 2016). "How the Clinger-Cohen Act Continues to Ripple Through Federal IT Today". FedTech. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ "William Floyd Clinger, Jr". Institute for Representative Government. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- ^ "Reformers Caucus". Issue One.
- ^ "Former Congressman William Clinger passes away; was instrumental in funding for Lock Haven flood protection system". The Record Online. May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
External links
edit- United States Congress. "William Clinger (id: C000523)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Appearances on C-SPAN