William Clinger

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.

For the computer scientist, see William Clinger (computer scientist). Not to be confused with William Klinger.
William Clinger
Chair of the House Oversight Committee
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded byJohn Conyers
Succeeded byDan Burton
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania
In office
January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1997
Preceded byJoseph Ammerman
Succeeded byJohn Peterson
Constituency23rd district (1979–1993)
5th district (1993–1997)
Personal details
Born
William Floyd Clinger Jr.

(1929-04-04)April 4, 1929
Warren, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 28, 2021(2021-05-28) (aged 92)
Naples, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Julia Whitla
​
​
(m. 1952; died 2016)​
EducationJohns Hopkins University (BA)
University of Virginia (LLB)
Military service
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1951–1955

Early life and education

Clinger 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

Clinger 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

Defeating 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

After 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
  1. Onofrio, Jan (January 1999). Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary. ISBN 9780403099504.
  2. "Lineage Book". 1931.
  3. Riesenman, Joseph (1943). "History of Northwestern Pennsylvania: Comprising the Counties of Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Warren, Forest, Clarion, McKean, Elk, Jefferson, Cameron and Clearfield".
  4. 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.
  5. Trefts, Deborah (August 2, 2016). "William Clinger, Jr. Discusses Political Polarity for Chautauqua Women's Club". The Chautauquan Daily. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  6. "CLINGER, William Floyd, Jr., (1929 - )". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  7. "William Clinger, Adjunct Faculty". Johns Hopkins University. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  8. Bash, Dana; Kopan, Tal (October 6, 2016). "30 Former GOP Lawmakers Sign Anti-Trump Letter". CNN. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  9. Fitzgerald, Thomas (October 6, 2016). "Former Pa. Rep. Who Investigated Clinton Scandals Opposes Trump". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  10. Wong, Wylie (February 10, 2016). "How the Clinger-Cohen Act Continues to Ripple Through Federal IT Today". FedTech. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  11. "William Floyd Clinger, Jr". Institute for Representative Government. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  12. "Reformers Caucus". Issue One.
  13. "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.
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