James Leo Nelligan was a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

Biography

James L. Nelligan was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...

. He attended King's College

King's College, Pennsylvania

King's College is a liberal arts college located in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. Accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, King's has been ranked among the best colleges in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for 16 straight years...

 in Wilkes-Barre, graduating in 1951. He served in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, and worked as an accountant. From 1951 until 1967 he was a staff member of the United States General Accounting Office

Government Accountability Office

The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He also served on the staff for the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations from 1967 to 1970. He was the director of the Finance and Grants Management Division of the United States Office of Economic Opportunity from 1970 to 1973, and director of the Office of Property Management, Office of Federal Management Policy, United States General Services Administration from 1973 to 1975. He served as operations director for the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce from 1975 to 1979.

He was elected in 1980 as a Republican to the 97th United States Congress

97th United States Congress

The Ninety-seventh 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, 1981 to January 3, 1983, during the final weeks of...

 but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1982. After his term in Congress he became the Deputy Secretary of Revenue of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, from 1983 to 1985, and the director of the Governor of Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., office from 1986 to 1987.