Profile in Courage: David Pryor

In today’s toxic political climate, it’s easier to call opponents names and dig up dirt about them than work with them to create a better future. It does not have to be this way. Public servants such as recently deceased Arkansas Governor, Senator, and Representative David Pryor (D) exemplify model statesmanship, serving as a courageous contrast to the current crop of U.S. politicians. Pryor consistently took the high road, finding common ground with adversaries and championing causes outside of his party’s comfort zone. For doing the right rather than expedient thing and bringing people together, David Pryor was absolutely a Profile in Courage.

From the start, Pryor harbored grand ambitions and had courageous policy stances. He was first elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1960 and served Ouachita County from 1961 through 1966. Like most Southern states in the 1960s, Arkansas was reluctant to grant civil rights to black citizens amid ferocious and often violent resistance from segregationists. Because of despicable policies such as poll taxes, impoverished black residents did not have the means to vote and were effectively disenfranchised. Meanwhile, political cronies kept no-bid contract dollars flowing to “good ol’ boys,” perpetuating the power structure and exacerbating inequality. After assuming office, Pryor promptly set his sights on these deeply unfair policies. He recalled, “In the Legislature I was known as a Young Turk… I tried to get rid of a poll tax, things like that. [County commissions] let the contracts for road building in each county…And under the system, they did all this without taking competitive bids. The first bill I introduced…required competitive bidding for all state and local highway contracts.” While the bill floundered at first, the legislation eventually passed and paved the way for reform. Arkansan voters followed Pryor’s lead on poll taxes, abolishing the racist policy in 1964 via state constitutional referendum.

After fighting these battles, Pryor’s ambitions lied beyond the state house. President Lyndon Johnson’s sudden appointment of Congressman Oren Harris (D) to a federal judgeship led to a special election for Arkansas’ Fourth Congressional District, and Pryor stepped up to the plate. The “Young Turk” cruised to election and served the Fourth District from 1966 to 1973. Pryor’s tenure in Congress was marked by the Vietnam War, and the young lawmaker shared the nation’s deep uncertainty and misgivings about the “forever war.” On one of many plane trips from Washington to Arkansas, Pryor had a life-changing conversation with a young serviceman who had lost a leg fighting overseas. The veteran told Pryor, “I would not have minded losing my leg, if only someone had told me why we were there in the first place.” From then on, Pryor made a point of opposing funding for the war and called for a swift end to the bloody conflict.

He garnered swift acclaim for speaking the conscience of the country, and pretty soon, Little Rock pols were begging him to come back to Arkansas full-time. Gov. Dale Bumpers decided not to run for a third term and Pryor banked on widespread popular support and was swept into the Governor’s Mansion. After being sworn in as governor in January 1975, Pryor quickly set his sights on fiscal reform. Like the rest of the nation, Arkansas was gripped by a recession, high taxes, and burgeoning government spending. Gov. Pryor proposed significant reforms, including a 25 percent reduction in the state income tax and devolution of tax-and-spend powers to localities. He reasoned that people should spend money however they wish, and taxpayers were struggling enough with soaring costs and economic malaise. While the “Arkansas Plan” failed, it would prove a harbinger of pro-taxpayer policies at the federal and state level. The Reagan Revolution was only a few years away, and Pryor found an increasing number of friends from across the aisle who shared his distaste for tax-and-spend policies. Effectively working with them, though, would require changing jobs yet again. While completing his term as governor, Pryor successfully ran for an open Senate seat and went on to serve his state for nearly twenty years.

Back in the halls of Congress, Pryor championed taxpayer protections from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Taxpayers had little recourse from the sprawling bureaucracy, which could upend lives through endless liens and audits. Pryor worked with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to introduce the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights,” which required the IRS to allow attorney assistance during audits, recovery of costs for administrative proceedings, and easy-to-understand explanations for taxpayers. Congress enacted this landmark legislation in 1988, and for the first time, taxpayers were not on their own against the IRS. Pryor didn’t stop there and successfully pushed for subsequent “Taxpayer Bills of Rights” designed to “achieve higher standards of accuracy, timeliness and fair play in providing taxpayer service.” The Senator explained, “these proposals do not diminish the power of the IRS — They simply make the IRS accountable for its actions.”

Pryor deserves acclaim for these critical first steps toward agency transparency and accountability. The IRS is still far too powerful, but Pryor showed that progress is possible through dedication and bipartisan cooperation. Pryor championed change wherever he went, transforming millions of lives and making Arkansas – and all of America – a better place. David Pryor is a Profile in Courage, and his legacy will endure for generations.