[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 137 (Friday, October 27, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H11415-H11421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE BILL ARCHER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 1999, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to rise in really 
celebration of a career of probably one of the most respected Members 
of this great body, and I am speaking of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Archer).
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) came to this House back in 1970 
after having served a short term in the Texas House of Representatives. 
But I think he really came into his own in 1994 when he became the 
Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means after serving for several 
years as the Ranking Republican Member.
  If there is one person in this body that I really try to as much as I 
possibly can to pattern myself after, my conduct and how I vote and how 
I view things, it would be the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer). He 
has such a high moral standard that he sticks to himself.
  His ability to listen to the Members and his ability of inclusion on 
the Committee on Ways and Means, it is sort of a rare thing that one 
sees that there is a coming together, because we see tax policy 
different, the two political parties.
  But under his leadership, he was a key player in getting the 1997 
balanced budget with tax relief signed into law. That tax cut was the 
first tax cut in 16 years. That shows his ability to work with the 
administration.
  I know that, on many occasions, he has gone down and has met with 
President Clinton on a number of things, some of which bear fruit and 
others that have not.
  I would like to just tick off a few of the accomplishments that the 
Committee on Ways and Means has done under his leadership. He shifted 
the burden of proof off the taxpayer and onto the Internal Revenue 
Service. That does not sound like much. But under our form of law, the 
taxpayer had the burden of proof, which just does not seem to be fair 
under our sense of justice.
  Under the leadership of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer), we 
changed that. We gave taxpayers 74 new rights and protections in their 
dealings with the Internal Revenue Service. We created an independent 
oversight agency to oversee the Internal Revenue Service.
  We gave new protections for innocent spouses. This is where, 
particularly in a case of a divorce, where the Internal Revenue Service 
would go back after, usually, the wife who just signed the return that 
her husband put in front of her; and they would go after her for things 
that were in the tax return that were stated wrong, fraudulently or in 
error. Now they have new rights, which is something that was very 
important.
  It prevents the IRS from seizing homes without a court order. It 
seems peculiar that the IRS could have done this without court orders, 
but now they have to have a court order; and that is the right thing to 
do.

[[Page H11416]]

  These things, among the others, were the first overhaul of the 
Internal Revenue Service since 1952.
  Human resources, he steered the welfare and health care reforms into 
law. I had the great privilege of working with the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Archer) on welfare reform. We have done unbelievable things. We 
have cut the roles in half in this country, and in doing so, not just 
by shoving people off the roles, but giving them pride in themselves to 
raise their own self-esteem and expectations that we have of them and 
they have of themselves.
  So many of these people have now become the role models for their 
kids, and that is terribly important. Eight million former 
beneficiaries are now working and have gained their independence. What 
a wonderful thing that is.
  Child poverty now is at an all-time low. Out-of-wedlock birth rate 
plateaued and now is declining for the first time in an entire 
generation and longer.
  Prisoners are no longer receiving welfare checks. That is something 
that is hard to believe, that welfare checks were being paid to 
prisoners, but that is what was happening. We put a stop to that. 
Taxpayers have saved $30 billion.
  His goal was to preserve Social Security. The Archer-Shaw bill was a 
perfect example of trying to work with inclusion. All the hearings that 
we had, listening to our Democrat colleagues, we incorporated into the 
bill their concerns through the hearing process.
  I would think that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer), probably 
one of his great disappointments is that we did not get the bipartisan 
support and the support from the White House that we felt we were 
promised. But I am confident in the next Congress that we will save 
Social Security. That plan that we will adopt may not have the name of 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) on it, but it certainly will have 
his spirit and the result of the good works.
  Beginning in the year 2012, we are looking at a $120 trillion deficit 
in Social Security. One tries to think how many zeros are in 120 
trillion. Just think of it this way, it is 36 times the amount of the 
national debt. We talk so much in this Chamber about getting rid of the 
national debt, and we have a projection out there by the Social 
Security Administration of an amount equal to 36 times, 36 times the 
national debt. That will be just over 60 years beginning in the year 
2015. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) tried to change that. 
Mainly because of his good works, we will be able to reverse that in 
the next Congress.

  He sponsored the bill and led the fight for the PNTR for China. As a 
conservative, he was the right man to lead that. I think that it is 
certainly a great accomplishment for which we can be proud.
  When he took over the Committee on Ways and Means as chair, he 
actually looked at our staff and reduced the staff by one-third. This 
is something that I think is really totally innate, the extent of that 
reduction in this Congress.
  The example of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) is everywhere, I 
think, in what he was able to accomplish, particularly during his time 
as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. He certainly will be 
missed, but his good works will be enjoyed by the American people for 
generations to come.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SHAW. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Shaw) bringing this special order honoring the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Archer). The gentleman from Florida has already gone 
over his legacy, and what a legacy it is.
  I happen to have the district that is next to the district of the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer), and I have known the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Archer) for many, many years. In fact, he does not 
particularly like for me to tell people how long I have known him, but 
back when I was going to the University of Houston, my senior year in 
1970, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) was running for Congress 
for the first time. At that time, it was the first campaign that I had 
ever worked in. I never met him. I did not meet him for another 20 
years. But I saw a man that I wanted to work for, a man of great 
integrity, a wonderful conservative, a man of principle, a man that 
stood for principle.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) was running as a Republican. 
Back in Texas in the late 1960s and early 1970s, they did not elect 
Republicans, they shot them. To run as a Republican was pretty near a 
death sentence if one really wanted to get elected. But the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Archer) stood up. He ran as a Republican. His district 
saw his great worth, and they elected him.
  He has served with such distinction. Even when he served in the 
minority for so long, the majority would come to him for advice on tax 
policy and the tax code. Then when he took over as Chairman of the 
committee, most Members, particularly those that are not as senior do 
not remember, but the Committee on Ways and Means carried, I think, 
about 70 percent of the Contract with America.
  They drove that legislation and did an outstanding job in telling the 
American people that we were going to do it. We showed them that we 
were going to do the Contract with America, and we did it under the 
Committee on Ways and Means and, most importantly, the leadership of 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer.)
  It was hard to do because we were fought every step of the way in 
everything we were going to try to do. Most people do not see it this 
way, but it is true. The shutdown of the government was caused by the 
President of the United States because he was opposed to balancing the 
budget. Yet, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) stood there, and 
stood there with great, great strength in order to carry that out, and 
finally signed in 1997 the Balanced Budget Act.
  Along with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), the most important 
thing that I have ever done in my career and many of our careers was 
welfare reform. We found a system that had failed. It had failed 
because of its liberal approach. It had failed the people on the 
welfare system. It had destroyed families by being dependent on the 
government.
  Yet, with the President fighting us every step of the way, we passed 
that legislation, and now we are reaping the benefits. Families are 
coming back together. Fathers are moving back in with the mothers of 
their children. Children are looking up to their parents as role models 
because they are receiving a paycheck. All of this is due to the will 
and the stamina and the distinction of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Archer).
  Let me just say on a personal note, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Archer) is one of the finest men I have ever had the privilege of 
knowing. Because he is strong in his faith in God, his wife Sharon, 
whom he dearly loves, at his side, a very extensive family, he has been 
a role model that they have modeled themselves after. His children are 
role models in themselves to their own children. His legacy is truly 
his family.
  Being the role model that he is, a man that shows integrity works, 
shows that being principled works, shows that if one loves one's family 
and holds them together, it truly works.

                              {time}  1515

  And so I am more than pleased to be here in honor of Bill Archer.
  Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Thomas).
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida, one, for 
taking this time to honor our colleague and our leader on the Committee 
on Ways and Means, the chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer).
  I came to the House in 1978 and moved to the Committee on Ways and 
Means in 1983. My predecessor from my district in Bakersfield was a 
Congressman by the name of Bill Ketchum, who was a member of the 
Committee on Ways and Means during his tenure in Congress. I already 
knew Bill Archer by reputation through Bill Ketchum before I came to 
Congress.
  Bill Archer has provided an extremely important institutional link to 
an earlier period of this body when there was a different tone, a 
different civility and, more importantly, a different approach to work 
product. The

[[Page H11417]]

thing that I will remember most about Bill Archer is that oftentimes we 
know a person as an individual and a person as a Member, and the way in 
which they conduct their business as a Member and the way in which they 
deal with various other personal aspects as a person are often 
different. I do not know of anyone else who follows a course in which 
his professional action is paralleled by his personal action.
  Any time I have been in a closed room with the gentleman from Texas, 
and we have had to reconcile a difference, the reconciliation takes the 
course of what is the right policy; what is the appropriate action, not 
what is in it for me, this is necessary for my constituents. It served 
him well as a compass, but it has not always provided a smooth road. 
Because oftentimes he stood in the way of someone wanting to get 
something from a personal or a district point of view, and sometimes 
that individual's discretion was clouded by the desire to obtain a 
particular end and what that gentleman was going to do to comity, to 
the Tax Code, and to policy by doing it. This institution has been well 
served by Bill Archer many, many times behind closed doors when his 
resolute determination to do what is right has prevailed.
  Sometimes when one winds up being in the majority, and obviously I 
served with Bill Archer in the minority for almost 16 years, and I 
think we get to know a person more when they are not able to do 
something, and the way in which they conduct themselves when they 
cannot do it, than when they are in a position of authority and they 
are able to do it. The civil manner in which Bill Archer presented his 
arguments, the determination, the preparation, is once again a model 
that all of us can remember and would be a model for all of us to 
adhere to.
  When he became chairman, and Republicans became the majority, he 
carried that over to the conduct on the full committee. Those of us who 
are returning, and we have a very high level of confidence that we will 
be returning to a Republican majority House and majority control of the 
Committee on Ways and Means, though Bill Archer will not be with us 
physically, he will always be with us in spirit because there will come 
a time behind closed doors when we have a difficult choice to make, and 
the response should be, and will be, well, what would Bill Archer do. I 
hope that will be our guiding philosophy even when Bill Archer will no 
longer be in the room.
  We wish him well, Mr. Speaker. We look forward to the enjoyment and 
the time he will have to spend with Sharon and the family, but that 
time will be taken away from his colleagues and the leadership he has 
provided us. He will be sorely missed by those of us who served with 
him as individuals; he will be much more sorely missed by this 
institution in terms of the way he conducted his public 
responsibilities.
  I thank the gentleman from Florida once again for taking this 
opportunity for us to remember the real meaning of Bill Archer. Do as 
Bill Archer would do.
  Mr. SHAW. I thank the gentleman for those very fine remarks.
  In just a moment I will be yielding back the time, the balance of 
which I understand will be claimed by the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Houghton) to conclude this special order, but I would like to just 
point out a couple of extra things about Bill Archer which are 
tremendously important.
  When I first went on the Committee on Ways and Means, the first thing 
they would do when they started marking up a tax bill was to close the 
doors. I can tell my colleagues that those sessions went a lot quicker 
and there were not as many speeches made, but he opened that process, 
which I think was a very good thing to do.
  Also, I would like to, just from a personal standpoint, mention what 
great friends that he and Sharon have been to Emily and to me. In 
Congress we do make some friends that last a lifetime, and our 
relationship with the Archer's has been a very, very special one, and 
one that both Emily and I certainly treasure. After hours, many, many 
times we have gotten together for dinner or have gone various places. I 
know that they have shown a keen interest in conservation on the 
continent of Africa. One such trip, which was not a taxpayers' expense 
trip, I must say, was deep back in this Congo, where it took better 
than a day to get back where we were going. Then we would walk for 
miles and miles and miles through the forest. I can tell my colleagues 
that I believe that 70-year-old man can walk further than I can. He 
absolutely is in great shape. I can attribute that, I think, to the 
time that he spends on a tractor doing other various other things at 
his farm out in Virginia, which I know he and his wife dearly, dearly 
love. Her love for animals is something that is, I think, really, 
really quite incredible.
  But I look forward to seeing more of Bill Archer. I have an idea that 
his days in government are not entirely behind him. He has so much yet 
to offer, and I look forward to working with him in the years ahead in 
other capacities.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cooksey). The balance of the pending 
hour is reallocated to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton).
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, there are several of us that have remarks 
about Bill Archer, and I will begin.
  I hope Bill and Sharon Archer are watching this program, because I do 
not believe anybody has said so many nice words to him to his face. We 
always say things behind people's backs, and it is easier to say things 
in public many times than it is in private. I think we all have felt 
these things, but it is many times embarrassing to say them on a one-
to-one basis.
  So, Bill, if you are listening, I do not want you to inhale all this 
stuff, but we really do believe it and want to express our appreciation 
and what you mean to us.
  It is always hard to say good-bye to somebody, particularly somebody 
for whom you have such respect. I am not a tax lawyer. I am far from 
it. And one of the great courses I have ever taken, when I came to this 
place, was from Bill Archer in terms of tax law. I do not consider 
myself a great tax expert now, but whatever I have learned, I have 
learned from Bill Archer in a very solid and sort of relaxed way trying 
to explain the intricacies.
  One of the things which I, as a sort of historian, have been 
interested in is his background, talking about institutional memory. 
Here is a fellow who was here when Wilbur Mills was here. Here was a 
fellow who was here when Russell Long was here. Those great titans of 
finance in our government gave him, obviously, a bedrock and an 
understanding of what the whole place was about in the thrust of the 
Committee on Ways and Means. I think all of us here who are on the 
Committee on Ways and Means are very humble about this. It is an 
extraordinarily important committee. One hundred percent of the 
revenues and 60 percent of the cost of the government goes through this 
committee.
  When one is involved in these sessions with Bill, one understands not 
only the functional parts but also the historic parts. He has always 
led that way, so tremendously.
  The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) was talking about welfare 
reform and was rather casual about it, I thought. Frankly, I think one 
of the most extraordinary pieces of legislation, I will say one of the 
top five pieces of legislation that I have seen since I have been here, 
is the welfare reform. That was Bill Archer and the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Shaw). The gentleman from Florida is very sort of modest 
about this whole thing.
  I think another thing is their concept, which never went anyplace, 
and it is too bad because it is a great concept, and it may someday, is 
the concept of the Social Security System. They had a plan to fix it, 
and there would be an element of pain but not as much if we did nothing 
at all. He was always on the forefront of things like that.
  One of the great things I think about Bill Archer is that he was 
never arrogant. Here was a man who had been in the minority for a long 
time and all of a sudden he was thrust in the position of chairman of 
the Committee on Ways and Means. Under those circumstances, after 
having been dying for years of not being able to be heard then suddenly 
being in the chairmanship, the way he conducted meetings, the way he 
was polite, the way he was respectful of people's opinions, both the 
people on the committee and also those people

[[Page H11418]]

who were testifying, is really an example in statesmanship.
  There is something about this man that I think is important, 
particularly in the stressful days that we are going through. He never 
carried too heavy a pack. In other words, he always could sort of sense 
the humor and the perspective and the importance of this place and, as 
a result, was a great example to all of us. I can remember taking a 
trip, all of us have taken trips with Bill Archer, and on those 
congressional delegation trips many times we see a person in full 
flower, particularly when he was with his beloved wife, Sharon. 
Wonderful human beings. The type of people that, although I do not live 
in Texas, I would like to say, gee, I am so proud to have that person 
represent me. That was the type of person he was.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Hayworth).
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York, the 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and 
Means.
  Mr. Speaker, as we come together on this floor, not to engage in the 
great debates and the differences that ofttimes define us, but to speak 
with a united voice in honor of our chairman, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Archer), who has decided, after three decades of meritorious 
service, to leave our midst for private life, although I have a feeling 
that he may be summoned to other duties in future days.
  Mention was made earlier of Bill's lovely bride Sharon and the 
menagerie of animals they keep in the Archer household. I would note 
with some pride, Mr. Speaker, that the Archer family cat is from the 
Sixth Congressional District of Arizona, having been picked up there by 
one of the Archer children during their time at Northern Arizona 
University. So I feel a kinship with the critters in the Archer 
household.
  And from time to time being described as one of the more animalistic 
members of the Committee on Ways and Means when tempers flare, when the 
debate is joined, I must say, Mr. Speaker, I look with great respect on 
the unique ability of Bill Archer to disagree without being 
disagreeable. That is a remarkable gift. Because time and again when we 
come to this well or when we meet in full committee, there are honest 
disagreements and policy differences passionately held.

                              {time}  1530

  The true mark of service and leadership for our chairman, Mr. 
Speaker, is his remarkable ability to deal in an affable, evenhanded 
fashion with every Member of the Committee, with every issue that may 
be contentious in nature, with every disagreement in such an agreeable 
fashion. It is a gift that escapes many of us, truth be told.
  So the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) the man leaves a legacy of 
kindness and civility, of unpretentiousness in a city where egos can 
clash, where, Mr. Speaker, if truth be told, most everyone who runs for 
public office and the euphemism of the new century has a healthy dose 
of self-esteem. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) stands as a 
modest man of incredible abilities.
  The public policy side of the ledger demonstrates this and has been 
enumerated by speakers who have preceded me, including my good friend 
from New York.
  Welfare reform can be looked upon as a bipartisan accomplishment 
driven by the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Mean, the first 
meaningful tax relief in almost a decade and a half under the 
chairmanship of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) and at times, 
even as recently as yesterday, when a sense of principle motivates him, 
there is no debate. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) disagreed 
with many of us yesterday and cast a vote based on his firm and 
unwavering ideals.
  Our other friend the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) mentioned 
times ``behind closed doors.'' And while those phrases are used as 
figures of speech, ``in the dark of night,'' ``behind closed doors,'' 
the fact is that we must sit down from time to time away from the roar 
of the grease paint, the smell of the crowd, and try to deal with 
policy.
  And I do not believe I am violating any confidences. I believe, Mr. 
Speaker, were the chairman here today he would freely admit to all, as 
he did to us privately, his test for how to do this job in the people's 
House, a test that may have in fact been magnified given the role he 
played as chairman of arguably the most powerful legislative committee 
in the greatest Constitution republic this world has seen.
  He said quite simply it is this, I made a promise to myself that, 
with every vote I would take, I would be able to sleep at night and I 
would remain true to my convictions.
  So said the gentleman from Texas (Chairman Archer). His actions have 
never wavered from that simple test. And as recently as yesterday, at a 
time of contentiousness again, he held firm. We may not agree on every 
issue, but we can all agree, Mr. Speaker, that the actions of our 
chairman are indeed special.
  Many others join us to share their reminiscences. I would simply say 
this again to reiterate. I am not at all certain that our chairman is 
headed for retirement. I think he is so valuable in so many different 
ways that there are those who may follow us into Government service who 
may cast a keen eye toward his talents. But for now in this role, as we 
prepare to conclude the 106th Congress, we do not say farewell, we 
simply say, Mr. Chairman, we will try to follow your example and we 
expect to see you again in other endeavors of public service. Because 
your wisdom, your unpretentiousness, your good common sense, and your 
grace under pressure are things that we cannot leave simply to 
retirement.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Nussle).
  Mr. NUSSLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said that character can be best defined by 
doing the right thing when no one is looking. I love that phrase. 
Because around here in Washington, D.C., particularly in Congress, 
there are a lot of people looking out there and it is easy to play to 
the camera and it is easy to play for the politics and everything else 
and there is often very few moments in time when we get to be on our 
own or dealing maybe one on one with a colleague.
  I have had that opportunity with our chairman. And I have to report 
to my colleagues that he is a man of very high character. I have never 
seen him do what I could refer to as the wrong thing, infuriating as 
that might be at times. I tried to coax him into violating maybe some 
of his own principles, maybe some of his views, political or personal 
views, on a couple of different items. And he beat me every single 
time. But he was always fair about it, even though he was tough. He was 
always forthright, and he always gave me a heads-up. And I respect him 
for that.
  I just come here today to say that, while there are a lot of people 
who are leaving this particular Congress, he is one who ranks up there 
as one of the ones that I will miss the most.
  Around here in Washington and Congress, many people come and go it 
seems. The beauty of our system is that, almost like sticking your 
finger in a pool of water, as soon as it removes, it fills in. There 
will be a new chairman. There will be another representative from his 
district in Texas. But the ripples on the water that the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Archer) has left for freedom in this country will ripple on 
for a very long time. And for that I am grateful. I know his family is 
grateful. All of America should be grateful.
  I bid him adieu.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. English).
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues in paying tribute to 
a man whose retirement announcement was one of the things that I most 
dreaded in this Congress.
  When I came to Congress and came to the Committee on Ways and Means 
in 1994, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) was a beacon. We had 
just taken control. Revolution was in the air. And we were facing an 
enormous task of moving, as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) noted, 
70 percent of

[[Page H11419]]

the Contract with America through our committee and doing it right. We 
could not have done it without leadership of the character and quality 
of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer).
  He has been noted by other speakers for his extraordinary civility in 
an institution where that is an increasingly rare element.
  I would like to say that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) has 
always struck me for his stoicism, his strong principle, and the fact 
that when it comes to principle, he has been absolutely unyielding. And 
yet, at the same time, Mr. Speaker, he has always been a superb 
legislative tactician. He has been courageous and articulate every time 
he has risen on the floor of this House.
  This chamber has become kind of hushed, because the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Archer) always has something extraordinary to say and the 
expertise to back it up. He is one of those Members who brings to this 
body true intellectual rigor. He has a profound understanding of the 
Tax Code, and that has really been the hallmark of his term as chairman 
of the Committee on Ways and Means.
  It is notable that he opposed the 1986 Tax Code when it passed, and 
with good reason, and every criticism that he made of that Code has 
been proven true. He has consistently advocated its replacement, and 
perhaps this body will some day have the courage to take up his 
challenge and pull the current Code out by the roots.
  Yet, he has been involved in other issues, as well. I became aware 
that he was a leading advocate of raising the earnings limit for 
persons with disabilities and carried that issue in a number of 
Congresses. He has consistently defended the prerogatives of the House 
Committee on Ways and Means, the oldest committee in this body, and one 
that has always risen above the partisan zephyrs that have troubled 
other committees.
  He has preserved the traditions of the Committee on Ways and Means 
very much in the tradition of the giants who have chaired that 
committee in this body, like John Randolph of Roanoke, William 
McKinley, and in our memory, Wilbur Mills. We will miss the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Archer). His shoes will be impossible to fill.
  But like Nathaniel Macon in the 19th century, he has decided that he 
is at a stage in his life when he would like to move on and do 
something else. We respect that. We wish him and Sharon well. We will 
miss him sorely in future Congresses. He has been for me an inspiration 
and has been a source, I think, of great institutional memory and 
stability.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from New York for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, one of my most vivid memories as a new Member of 
Congress was my first meeting with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Archer) after I had only been in Washington a couple of days. I went to 
see the gentleman because he was a member of what was then called the 
Committee on Committees, which now is called the Steering Committee, 
which makes committee assignments.
  I was interested in serving on two committees, the Committee on the 
Judiciary and the Committee on Science. My first choice was the 
Committee on the Judiciary because it had subcommittees dealing with 
crime and another one that oversaw immigration policy. At the time, it 
was not thought possible to serve on both committees at the same time, 
even though that was my hope.
  Well, a few days later, while the Committee on Committees was 
meeting, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) called me and told me 
that he thought that if I changed the order of my preference from 
Judiciary first and Science second to Science first and Judiciary 
second, we could ``throw a long pass'' and perhaps connect so that I 
would be on both.
  I decided to leave it up to the Texas quarterback (Mr. Archer) and so 
put my committee assignments, and there is nothing more important to a 
new Member, in his hands. A couple of hours later he called back and 
said that I had been appointed to both. It was obviously thanks to his 
strong arm and steady aim.
  It is obvious to any Member of Congress who has ever worked with the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) that his strong arm and steady aim 
has been a characteristic he has always displayed. Whether it is giving 
Americans tax relief or ensuring the long-term solvency of Social 
Security or revamping the Internal Revenue Service, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Archer) has as often as not completed that long pass.
  One other characteristic needs to be mentioned, and that is that he 
not only has a strong record and steady hand, but he also plays fair 
and throws straight with his colleague. He tells us the truth. We know 
we can rely on what he tells us and what he really thinks about any 
issue or any piece of legislation. His consistent record of doing what 
is best for the American people, being straightforward in his dealings 
with others, and doing what he thinks is right are attributes that 
anyone in public life should aspire to.
  Mr. Speaker, the good thinking and good judgment of the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Archer) will be missed, but he will always remain an 
example of an ideal congressman to us all.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Gilman) the distinguished chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations, my friend and associate.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. 
Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) for 
conducting this special order.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues in paying 
tribute to a legislator who has been one of the more remarkable and 
outstanding Members of this body, a gentleman whose impending departure 
is going to be a genuine loss to the Congress and to our Nation.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) first came to the House 2 years 
before I entered the House, initially being elected from his hometown 
of Houston, Texas, in 1970.
  From his earliest days as a Member of the House of Representatives, 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) dedicated himself to the need to 
reform our outdated tax codes and made it his highest priority as the 
chairman of our House Committee on Ways and Means.
  In fact, many Americans would have been unaware of the injustice of 
the marriage penalty or the death tax were it not for the research and 
diligence that the gentleman put into spotlighting these inequities.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) first sought election to the 
House when his incumbent Congressman, a young man by the name of George 
Bush, decided to vacate his seat to seek election to the Senate.
  He is so beloved by his constituency, which he represents so 
meritoriously, that he has never been reelected to his congressional 
seat by less than a three-to-one margin. His 30 years of service to 
this body and to his constituents guaranteed that his shoes are going 
to be difficult to fill and he is certainly going to be long-missed. 
However, his years of service underscore that a long, healthy, and 
relaxing retirement is warranted and fully earned.

                              {time}  1545

  To Bill Archer and to his lovely wife, Sharon, to their five children 
and two stepchildren, we extend our best wishes for a happy retirement 
together, with hopes they will often return to visit us.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Portman), another distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and 
Means.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for having this 
special order.
  You know, it is hard to imagine this place without Bill Archer. He 
will be very much missed; by me, by Members of this Congress from both 
sides of the aisle, by the Committee on Ways and Means, arguably the 
most powerful committee in Congress, that he has shepherded with such 
skill, and by this institution, by the House, as a body.
  Let us be frank here. Not all of us will leave such a void. Not all 
of us will have such a remarkable legacy.
  What is it about Bill Archer? He is a very special person. I have 
learned a lot from him. He is a principled, fierce advocate of limited 
government, and

[[Page H11420]]

yet no one I know has deeper respect for public service.
  I remember once being at an event where Bill Archer was asked to 
speak. Without notes he stood up and recited from memory Teddy 
Roosevelt's great statement, in which he said, ``The credit belongs to 
the man who is actually in the arena,'' and Bill Archer feels that in 
his heart. He has respect for all of us as Members of Congress, in part 
because of that respect for public service.
  He is firm, he is tough, he is also exceedingly polite. Who in this 
chamber has not been greeted at one point by Bill Archer with a smile, 
extending his hand saying, how are you? Even as Chairman, Bill Archer 
has been very careful not to demand loyalty from members of the 
Committee on Ways and Means. He rarely asks anybody for anything, and 
yet I know nobody who is more loyal than Bill Archer.
  Leader Dick Armey reminded me recently of a song that Bill Archer is 
fond of. One day here on the floor things were tough on an issue, I was 
having a difficult time as a relatively junior Member of Congress, and 
Bill Archer took me aside and told me about a song he used to are cite 
to his kids to instill in them a sense of loyalty and brotherly love. 
It is a song about two combatants in the Civil War, one on the side of 
the North, one on the side of the South. One goes down on the Gray side 
of the line. The one on the Blue side of the line says something like, 
did you think I would leave you dying, when there is room on my horse 
for two?
  He sung that song to his boys so that they would have brotherly love, 
but it goes to what Bill Archer believes, which is there is nothing 
more important than personal loyalty.
  Bill Archer will be succeeded in Congress and in that district in 
Houston where he gets something like 80 percent of the vote, and he 
will be succeeded at the Committee on Ways and Means as Chairman, but 
nobody will replace Bill Archer. We are going to miss him, the 
Committee on Ways and Means will miss him, and this institution will 
miss him.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Armey), distinguished Majority Leader.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for 
yielding. Let me thank the gentleman from New York for taking this 
time.
  Every now and then I think in our lives we ought to take time. We 
ought to just pause and reflect about the good people we are privileged 
to know, the good people with whom we are privileged to work.
  In my life, in all the years, either in academics or here, never has 
there been more such a fine person I have been privileged to know and 
with whom to work than Bill Archer. He has been, for all of us, a 
source of encouragement, of optimism. On some occasions when we needed 
it, what should I say, Dutch uncle-ish criticism, critique and so 
forth. But Bill Archer is an interesting fellow in the way that he 
could give you the kind of critique you may need at a moment, and, at 
the same time, make you feel encouraged by it.
  We are all going to miss Bill. I would like to share two observations 
in particular. We talk about how we related to him, what he meant to us 
as a colleague, fellow Members of Congress.
  I would like to reflect for a moment on what he has meant to so many 
of the young people that have come through here. My observation has 
been all too many times, people come to Washington a young idealist and 
leave an old cynic. Bill Archer has beaten the odds on that one. He 
came here a young idealist, and he is leaving here as a not so young 
idealist.
  But I think it was because of the relationship he was able to have 
with young people. I have seen that in my own Chief of Staff David 
Hobbs, who many of us see now as a competent and able person here, who 
had his beginning here on Bill Archer's staff. A Texas boy, graduate of 
the University of Texas, graduate of the Lyndon Baines Johnson School 
at the University of Texas, who admired Bill Archer and came here and 
was privileged to come here and got his early training here.
  David was the first hire I made when I came here in 1985. For all 
these years I always said to David, I know you really love Bill Archer 
more than me. He never denied it. A couple of months ago, Bill Archer 
pointed out to me, ``You know, your Chief of Staff really loves me more 
than he does you.'' I said, ``Bill, I don't blame him. I love you more 
than I do me.''
  So he had a big influence. I know there are probably thousands of 
stories of that kind of influence on young people who managed to come 
here and find their youthful idealism appreciated.
  So, Mr. Houghton, if I could end with this observation, it is an 
observation I made last Thursday with the Texas delegation at lunch. We 
had a great privilege to be in the majority. For many of us we felt it 
was something of a miracle in 1994 when we won the majority. We have 
had an opportunity to do things that many of us never thought possible.
  But when I look on the reflection of it, there is nothing that I have 
experienced in the majority in the United States House of 
Representatives that has warmed my heart more nor given me greater 
reason for optimism about this great land than seeing my friend Bill 
Archer be Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. I believe it was 
the only job he ever wanted in this Congress, and, believe me, Bill, 
few people will ever be able to say with greater accuracy and 
conviction, I got to do the only job I ever wanted in Congress, and I 
did it to the best of my ability, and have people say, in a chorus of 
response, and no one, Mr. Chairman, could have done it better.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri 
(Mr. Blunt), the assistant majority whip.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me and 
for taking the time today to honor the tremendous service of Chairman 
Archer.
  I very well remember the first meeting I had with him as a freshman. 
It is easy for me to remember that, because it was not that long ago. 
But he quickly responded to my request to come over and talk to him 
about a piece of the Tax Code that affected colleges and universities.
  I spent 4 years as a university president. I felt very comfortable 
about that part of the Tax Code. I went over and I found out, of 
course, in significant detail that the Chairman knew more about that 
very, very small part of the Tax Code than I did. But we had a great 
discussion. At the end of our great discussion, he had not changed his 
mind.
  He felt strongly that he saw this Tax Code and the way it affected 
Americans headed in a consistent direction; that was the direction 
toward greater simplicity, a direction toward greater fairness, a 
direction where he thought that American families would benefit more 
universally from the Tax Code, and trying to eliminate those parts of 
the code that only benefitted a few, instead of benefiting many. He has 
been consistent, he has been strong. He has devoted himself to an IRS 
that works better, to a Tax Code that is hopefully fairer and more 
easily understood.

  I know as he leaves here, he leaves here understanding there is still 
a lot of work to be done in that regard, and there will be work for 
Congresses to come to be done. But he has advanced the cause of a 
fairer, simpler Tax Code.
  He has been consistent in his approach to every Member. His door has 
been open, from the lowest freshman on the totem pole to every other 
member in this conference. He would take time to explain to you his 
point of view, even though on your point of view, by others, it could 
have easily been argued quickly, well, you have only been here for a 
short period of time, or you do not understand the last generation and 
how this debate has gone on. But in fact Chairman Archer was always 
willing to take time to explain that debate, explain how we got to 
where we were, and his vision for where we yet could go.
  I am hopeful that his service to America is nowhere near over. His 
legacy in this Congress will last for a long time, Mr. Speaker, but I 
think he has so much more to offer. I hope to see him willing to do 
that, and to continue to make the kind of significant contributions 
that he has made for a generation now in this Congress.
  He has stuck with his commitment that this would be the time when he 
should leave the Congress, a mark that he set half a dozen years ago; 
that he

[[Page H11421]]

has decided to, absolutely, as he has done in every other instance, 
keep his commitments.
  This is the committed time in his mind to leave the Congress. I hope 
it is not a committed time in his mind to not be available to further 
service to Americans, because he has a lot of service, a lot of wisdom, 
a lot of history, a lot of heritage yet to share.
  I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and for taking the time 
today to recognize the great work and commitment of Chairman Bill 
Archer from Texas.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I just have a few brief words at the end. 
I think our side is done. I think we have expressed our feelings. But I 
would just like to say one more thing.
  William Archer's example, not what he has done, because what he has 
done is very significant, his example is one of the finest I have ever 
seen, and he represents the greatest, I think, the greatest 
characteristic that this country has to offer.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, the legacy of Bill Archer is a gift of 
responsible government to the American people in a great diversity of 
actions.
  Many times I have heard the cry for a national industrial policy. In 
truth, the tax code is the nation's industrial policy. Bill's ``steady 
as you go'' leadership has made our code far better than it would have 
been without his strong role of participation.
  I did smile when Phil English mentioned President McKinley, who 
represented my home county of Stark as a congressman, as one of Bill's 
distinguished predecessors as chairman of Ways and Means. McKinley was 
a dedicated protectionist, however, in his last speech in Buffalo, he 
repudiated this policy. I think Bill would have liked the reformed 
McKinley rather than the congressional McKinley.
  The people of this nation are in your debt for dedicated service for 
them.
  My best to you Bill and Sharon for good health and many fruitful 
years of happiness.
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, it is quite possible I have known Bill Archer 
longer than anyone in this Chamber. We met for the first time 30 years 
ago at a Lincoln Day festival. Bill was serving in the Texas State 
legislature at the time. I was told by mutual acquaintances that Bill 
was a strong conservative of unwavering principles, and that he would 
soon be elected to Congress. They were right on both counts.
  In fact, the only time I have known of Bill wavering occurred about 
three years before we first met. Bill found it necessary to correct a 
mistake he had grown up with. He switched from the Democratic to 
Republican parties.
  I have had the great honor and pleasure to sit next to Bill for 25 
years now on the Ways and Means Committee. We have fought many fights 
together. We saw the power of the Committee exercised first-hand under 
Wilbur Mills. We experienced the curious mix of Chicago-style politics 
applied to national policy under Danny Rostenkowski. We celebrated the 
1981 tax cut together, the effects of which are still being felt in 
today's prosperity. And we suffered through the lost opportunities of 
the 1986 Tax Reform Act and the disastrous 1990 and 1993 tax increases.
  Bill Archer has been a forceful and effective Chairman of the Ways 
and Means Committee through some of its most difficult years. These are 
partisan times, and, sadly, this partisanship has infected the work of 
the Committee all too often. Through it all, Bill has kept to his 
principles, and kept his sense of humor.
  Bill Archer knows as well as anyone in the United States what is 
wrong with our tax system. And he sees all-too-well the unfortunate 
trends of recent years, such as the increasing use of tax credits and 
the use of the tax system as an alternative to spending. He has fought 
valiantly to resist these trends while building a fire for fundamental 
tax reform.
  Unfortunately, Bill's legacy will not be the enactment of fundamental 
tax reform. But it will be the laying of the groundwork for the reforms 
to come. And they will come. Each of us must stand on the shoulders of 
those who preceded us. The Ways and Means Committee, and tax policy 
generally, will be standing on firm and principled ground years from 
now thanks to Bill's leadership.
  To quote Winston Churchill speaking of Lord Halifax:

       The fortunes of mankind in its tremendous journeys are 
     principally decided for good or ill--but mainly for good, for 
     the path is upward--by its greatest men and its greatest 
     episodes.

  Bill Archer has participated in, and in some cases presided over, 
some of the Ways and Means Committee's greatest episodes. By virtue of 
his unbending adherence to principle and fairness in the most 
tempestuous of times, he is also, in my opinion, one of its greatest 
men.

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