Upon graduating from law school in 1951, Archer was admitted to the State Bar of Texas and started up his practice in 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.
In 1999, Archer was instrumental in giving temporary Most favoured nation (MFN) status to China, with the support of then-president Bill Clinton, despite deep concerns over human rights issues and the trade deficit. In the last year of his presidency Clinton called on Congress to help him change China’s normal trade relations status with the U.S. to permanent. This would amend the Trade Act of 1974 which had the trade status of China on an annually review to determine the best course of action. The piece of legislation was introduced to the House as H.R. number 4444 on May 15, 2000, by Archer (he had three cosponsors). Introduce to the House the legislation referred to the 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 Paul H. O'Neill resigned as Treasury Secretary in 2002, Archer was considered as a possible successor.[5][6] He is the namesake of a distinguished fellowship program with the University of Texas System, the Archer Fellowship Program (www.archercenter.org). The highly competitive program brings students from all over the UT System to Washington, D.C. for a full semester of classes and internships in the nation's political center. He was chairman of the International Conservation Caucus Foundation from 2006 to 2009. He currently acts as Senior Policy Analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and occasional guest lecturer.
