Buckley was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-first Congress (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress.
He engaged in the real estate and building business at Calumet City, Illinois, from 1951 until his death.
He died in Hammond, Indiana, July 30, 1954.
He was interred in Calvary Cemetery, Gary, Indiana.