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
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|---|---|
 | |
| 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. (1929-04-04)April 4, 1929 Warren, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 28, 2021(2021-05-28) (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 |
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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.
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]
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.
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]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 23rd congressional district 1979–1993 |
Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district 1993–1997 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee 1993–1995 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the House Oversight Committee 1995–1997 |
Succeeded by |