William Reynolds Archer Jr., a former Texas and U.S. lawmaker who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee during major tax and budget debates of the 1990s, died over the July 4th weekend at age 98.
Archer served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 2001. From 1995 until the end of his congressional service, he chaired the House Ways and Means Committee, the House’s chief tax-writing committee.
Before becoming Ways and Means chairman, Archer had already built a reputation as a principled policymaker focused on bipartisanship and fiscal responsibility. On the eve of the 104th Congress, The Houston Chronicle wrote that his likely chairmanship “bodes well for Houston and the nation,” while noting that Houston should not expect “a windfall of pork or special tax breaks.”
Legislative record
Archer’s major legislative record included the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, which the article describes as offering nearly two decades of budget stability while providing tax relief.
He also helped advance several tax and savings policy changes, including:
- easing the estate tax;
- expanding access to retirement savings accounts;
- expanding access to health savings accounts;
- establishing the first version of the child tax credit.
Work after Congress
After leaving Congress, Archer joined the Tax Foundation’s board of directors, becoming the first in a line of former Ways and Means chairmen to do so. He served on the board from 2003 to 2017.
He was a two-time recipient of the Tax Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award.
The article describes Archer’s post-congressional work as focused on tax policy debate, fiscal responsibility, and support for the next generation of policy professionals. His public-service legacy is tied especially to tax law, budget policy, and the role of the Ways and Means Committee in shaping federal revenue policy.
Source article: taxfoundation.org
