Former Rep. Bill Archer, a Texas Republican who spent three terms chairing the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in the 1990s, died Saturday at his farm in Stanley, Va. He was 98.

Archer, who came to Congress in 1971, was elected to fill former President George H. W. Bush’s House seat. He got his start in local politics before his election to the Texas legislature, where he served two terms, starting as a Democrat before switching parties and joining the GOP.

During his three decades representing west Houston in Washington, Archer was known for leaving his mark on the tax code, perhaps most notably through his role in establishing the $500-per-child tax credit and decreasing the estate tax. He was a champion for tax cuts and changes to welfare programs.

Archer was also in Congress long enough to see the end of 40 years of Democratic control of the House — a streak that, once broken, would leave him with the Ways and Means gavel and an outsize role in defining the GOP’s tax agenda for the coming years.

“Serving as the first Republican chairman after Republicans took back the House in 1994, he was instrumental in passing fiscally conservative tax policies that returned Americans more of their hard-earned dollars,” Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said in a statement on social media. “His legacy lives on today in policies like the Child Tax Credit, which he helped create, and in our enduring commitment to a pro-growth tax code that will benefit American families for years to come.”

As committee chairman, Archer faced critics from both sides of the aisle. Beyond Democratic pushback, Archer also found himself sidelined at times by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich and other GOP leaders, who occasionally seized the reins on tax and trade policy matters in pressure tactics against Democrats.

However, Archer was still able to work both within his party and across the aisle to reach consensus. While in Congress, he advocated for what was dubbed the “Archer Rule” — that members of the Texas congressional delegation not speak poorly of each other — and he worked with the Clinton White House to preserve Medicare.

“I’ll always remember how he approached every issue on its merits, recognizing that good ideas could come from anywhere, regardless of party,” Ways and Means ranking member Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., said in a statement.

Archer’s departure from the House came as he was up against a GOP conference requirement to give up the Ways and Means chairmanship. He briefly flirted with a run for speaker at the end of the 105th Congress, but ultimately opted to keep his gavel for one final term, and he did not run for reelection in 2000.

After leaving Congress, Archer established the D.C.-based Archer Center, the Washington campus for the University of Texas. The program, which saw its first class of students arrive in 2001 and has since had more than 2,200 participants, is aimed at inspiring future generations of public servants.

“My dad would often tell me that while it was rewarding to pass major legislation, he felt his greatest accomplishment was in helping individual people,” said William “Reyn” Archer III, Archer’s eldest son, in a statement from the Archer Center. “He cared deeply for the power of one person achieving their best. Through the Archer Center, he leaves a lasting legacy of that desire for Texas and Texans.”