Bill Archer

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Bill Archer
Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Preceded bySam Gibbons
Succeeded byBill Thomas
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 7th district
In office
January 3, 1971 – January 3, 2001
Preceded byGeorge H. W. Bush
Succeeded byJohn Culberson
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 22nd district
In office
January 10, 1967 – January 12, 1971
Preceded byWallace H. Miller
Succeeded bydistrict seat abolished
Member of the Hunters Creek Village City Council
In office
1955–1962
Personal details
Born
William Reynolds Archer Jr.

(1928-03-22) March 22, 1928 (age 96)
University of Texas, Austin (BBA, LLB)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Air Force
Years of service1951-1953
RankCaptain
Battles/warsKorean War
Bill Archer's voice
Archer, as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, opens debate on the United States–China Relations Act of 2000
Recorded May 24, 2000

William Reynolds Archer Jr. (born March 22, 1928) is an American retired lawyer and politician. Archer served two terms, from 1967 to 1971, in the Texas House of Representatives – changing from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1967 – and later represented Texas in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican for 30 years, from 1971 until 2001, serving for his last six years as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Background

Archer was born in

University of Texas, he was a member of the Texas Rho chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
.

Upon graduating from law school in 1951, Archer was admitted to the

Houston, Texas. Within months, Archer was drafted and served as a captain in the United States Air Force after the onset of the Korean War
. Returning from service in 1953, Archer became the president of Uncle Johnny Mills, Inc. and stayed there until 1963.

Politics

Meanwhile, Archer started his career as a politician. He served as a councilman and mayor pro tempore for the city of Hunters Creek Village from 1955 to 1962. Five years later, Archer became director of Heights State Bank. During the same year, he became a member of the Texas House of Representatives and served until he was elected the successor for fellow Republican and future president George H. W. Bush as the U.S. Congressman for the 7th District of Texas. Jumping into the race after Bush protégé, James Baker, withdrew, he won his first election with 65% of the vote and was reelected 14 times, never facing serious opposition in what had become one of the most Republican districts in Texas. His 1970 victory turned out to be his lowest percentage; in subsequent years he never dropped below 79% of the vote. He even ran unopposed in 1976, 1990, 1992 and 1994 and faced no major-party opposition in 1998.

Archer served as the chairman of the

House Committee on Ways and Means from 1995 until the end of his political career in 2001. As chairman, he was known to be a "tough fiscal conservative"[1]
Archer believed that the government had been taking too much from the United States citizens, and as the chairman he sought to downsize Washington by reducing the money it takes away from the people (in reference to taxes), a political strategy referred to as "starving the beast".

Archer was not a candidate for re-election to the 107th United States Congress and subsequently retired from politics on January 2, 2001.

Archer has taken a

welfare funding. [2]

In 1999, Archer was instrumental in giving temporary

Ways and Means committee in the House of Representatives to be amended and written up.[3] The legislation was introduced by saying that the bill was a top priority for the rest of the year and it was vital to the U.S. agriculture market to have access to a market that accounts for one-fifth of the world’s population.[4]

Life after politics

Archer with Dick Armey at a House Budget Committee meeting in October 2004

After retirement from politics in 2001, Archer remained active in public life and maintained a home in Washington. After

PricewaterhouseCoopers
, and occasional guest lecturer.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "W.R. 'Bill' Archer". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Texas State Preservation Board. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  2. ^ "About Bill Archer". Archived from the original on 2000-12-25.
  3. ^ Dreier, David. "H. Res. 510: providing for further consideration of the (H.R. 4444) to authorize extension".
  4. ^ Greenspan, Alan. "Clinton and Greenspan on China PNTR, 2000". Archived from the original on 2012-12-12.
  5. ^ "Bush shakes up economic team". NBC News. 8 December 2002.
  6. ^ "Bush revamps economic team". 7 December 2002.

External links

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by
Wallace H. Miller
 Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 22nd district, Seat 5
1967–1971 		Succeeded by
district seat abolished
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 7th congressional district
1971–2001 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee
1988–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
1995–2001 		Succeeded by
Bill Thomas
California
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative
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