William Floyd Clinger Jr. (April 4, 1929 – May 28, 2021) was an American attorney and Republican politician who represented northwest and north-central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 Warren is a city in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,404 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Forest ...

, 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 Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1951 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1965.

Career

Clinger served as an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

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

104th Congress The 104th 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, D.C. from January 3, 19 ...

, which was quite active in investigating the

Travelgate The White House travel office controversy, sometimes referred to as Travelgate,
''

and

Filegate The White House FBI files controversy of the Clinton Administration, often referred to as Filegate,

matters. In addition, he served as vice chairman of the

United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

and ranking member on the Subcommittee on Aviation. Along with then-Senator

William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (1979� ...

, Clinger co-authored the

Information Technology Management Reform Act The Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 is a United States federal law, designed to improve the way the federal government acquires, uses and disposes information technology (IT). It was passed as Division E of the National Defense ...

, 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 Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

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