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 The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1979 to 1997.

Early life and education

Clinger was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, the son of Lella May (Hunter) and William F. Clinger. He attended the public schools there and graduated from The Hill School in 1947. 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 The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1972. Clinger was associated with the New Process Company of Warren, Pennsylvania from 1955 to 1962, was admitted to the Pennsylvania

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in 1965, and was a lawyer in private practice.

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 The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

in the

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, which was quite active in investigating the

Travelgate The White House travel office controversy, sometimes referred to as Travelgate,
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and Filegate matters. 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. Along with then-Senator William Cohen, Clinger co-authored the Information Technology Management Reform Act, also known as the Clinger-Cohen Act. He was not a candidate for re-election to the

105th Congress The 105th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1997, ...

in 1996.

Later life

After his retirement from Congress, Clinger served as the chairman for the Chautauqua Institution's board of trustees. He was a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Advanced Governmental Studies and co-chairman of the board of directors for the Institute for Representative Government. He was also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of

Issue One Issue One is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influ ...

. 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 as "manifestly unqualified to be president." Clinger died at the age of 92 on May 28, 2021.

References

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinger, William 1929 births 2021 deaths Johns Hopkins University alumni Pennsylvania lawyers People from Warren, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania The Hill School alumni United States Navy officers Whitewater controversy 20th-century American politicians