Quick Facts
Biography
James Michael Hanley (July 19, 1920 – October 16, 2003) represented New York in the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1981.
Biography
James M. Hanley was born in Syracuse, New York on July 19, 1920. He attended local schools and graduated from St. Lucy’s Academy in 1938. He was a funeral director, and the owner and operator of the Callahan-Hanley-Mooney Funeral Home.
Hanley enlisted for World War II and served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946.
In 1964 he was a successful Democratic candidate for a seat in Congress. He served eight terms, 1965 to 1981, and was Chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service in his final term. During his Congressional career, Hanley was known as a liberal, and supported the Great Society program of Lyndon B. Johnson, expansion of Medicare and Head Start, and the Equal Rights Amendment.
Hanley did not run for reelection in 1980. He worked as a government relations consultant in the Washington, D.C. area until 1990, afterwards retiring to upstate New York.
He died in Geddes, New York on October 16, 2003, and was buried at the Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
The federal building in Syracuse is named for him.