PAT ROBERTSON: The 108^th Congress has convened, but without one of the most accomplished leaders in many years. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, the architect of the "Republican Contract with America" back in the 1994 era, is retiring. And that’s unsettling news for the nation, but great news for Congressman Armey who has gone home to Texas. And he’s joining us now from Dallas. Dick, do you feel free of the burdens and now you’re happy to be back on the range?

DICK ARMEY: Well, it is nice to be home in Texas, Pat. And, of course, you know, when I made the decision to retire I said it was about being home with Susan. Waylon Jennings had a great song that tells the whole story, "All I’m Gonna Be Is Her Man," that’s enough for me. It’s a real exciting opportunity for me.

ROBERTSON: You know, when you all came into the Congress, the whole concept of cutting taxes was sort of anathema. The idea was the Democrats controlled the House and, what stands out now as you look back over your time on Capitol Hill?

ARMEY: Well, you know, we worked hard on cutting taxes. We tried to reform taxes. I’m not done, by the way, with a lot of that work we tried to do. But I learned a lot of lessons in Washington. It is tough to cut taxes for the American people. It’s even tougher to cut spending. But we also needed to reform things. I’m very proud of what we did with welfare reform. We liberated a lot of families. We’ve taken a lot of children out of the jaws of poverty. We’ve reduced the rate of increase in unwed teenage mothers for the first time in a generation. So we’ve managed to have some accomplishments that really work in the lives of real people, and especially these beautiful children. But there’s so much more work to do.

ROBERTSON: The House passed over 50 pieces of legislation which died in the Daschle Senate. Now the Republicans will control and organize the Senate. What legislation do you think is going to be top of the agenda for the new Congress?

ARMEY: Well, certainly the President’s made it clear the Faith-Based Initiative is gonna be reinvigorated when we come in with a new Congress. It’s time to get that work done. It’s time also, of course, to have real tax reduction at least if not whole reform so that we can help put a little spur to this economy and get people back to work and get the sort of national optimism up. We have opportunities to provide prescription medicines to senior citizens within the context of a reformed Medicare system. That takes a lot of deep thinking and hard work and I think, again, we have an opportunity to do that.

And then we can look for the big opportunities in public policy to really do a service in the life of the American people with a decent, honest, civilized tax code and with a reliable retirement system that serves all generations well. So the President and the next Congress have an opportunity to make major policy initiatives. Foreign policy areas, as you know, Pat, are very difficult. The President is doing very well there, but it’s really time to get a more coordinated, balanced effort on both the foreign policy and the domestic policy front, and to have a Senate that really wants to come back to town, go to work and sort of pick up all the work there is. The House is always going to be more productive than the Senate, but the Senate needs to do a better job of picking up work.

ROBERTSON: What about the whole concept of taking a portion of Social Security and allowing younger workers to invest in the various instruments that are available in the free market?

ARMEY: Well, that concept is so workable and so much would be the solution to the pending insolvencies that face Social Security. Young Congressman Jim DeMint from South Carolina has done such a great job of putting together a program, a plan that has been tested, by the way, by Social Security’s own actuarials, that is so workable and it answers the prayers of seniors for their children, and answers the prayers of children in America for their grandparents.

We really need to jump on this time, this opportunity, this responsibility that we have to maintain a solvent retirement system for all generations. And the intellectual work is there. Now the question is: Has it come time where we can do the pull to get past the political morass that has plagued Social Security since 1964, and treat the subject as a serious policy discussion by serious adults on behalf of the people instead of partisan politics on behalf of ourselves.

ROBERTSON: There’s an additive [that some claim causes autism] that the drug companies have to put into various inoculations to keep them from being toxic, and you have been criticized as the man — as I remember, you stood up and said, "I’m proud of the fact that I got that into the legislation to exempt them from lawsuits." Could you tell us about that?

ARMEY: We have had a problem with getting vaccinations produced in America because of the lawsuits that have been brought against the companies. In 1998, I should remind people, Teddy Kennedy passed a bill that would relieve that sort of tort pressure on the companies so that we could have a reliable vaccine supply. The tort lawyers found a loophole by way of this additive, they’ve re-assaulted it, and I put in a correction that would reinstate the original Kennedy legislation to guarantee a reliable vaccine supply.

Now, the question that we’re talking about has not been validated by science or medicine as, indeed, a real connection or cause of autism. It’s a courtroom argument, but it’s not bolstered by any science and engineering. I felt my responsibility in homeland security was to address the question of a reliable vaccine supply for all of America on the best scientific arguments available. I frankly did dismiss the arguments of the tort lawyers that are seeking the opportunity for class-action lawsuits in deference to the testimony of the science community and, frankly, it was a necessary thing to put in there. It is something I’m proud that I did because we cannot let the tort lawyers define the conditions of science and medicine in America. They’ll dumb it down as they’ve done so many other things.

ROBERTSON: Well, you know, I saw a piece on CBS News that seemed to act like there was a sinister plot between Eli Lily and, you know, Mitch Daniels and you, and everybody getting these enormous payoffs. That’s not true, is it?

ARMEY: Nah, it’s not true. And you know, the news, bless their hearts – I always laugh, I said, "The news media in America is staffed by young idealists and old cynics and it’s hard to tell which one is going to be least productive in producing the news." And that, by the way, Pat, I’ll remind you, is why my mother and my wife always take their news from your show; they find it so reliable.

ROBERTSON: I’m very happy at that endorsement, thank you.

ARMEY: Pat, you’re not an old cynic. Maybe, Pat, you’re an old idealist.

ROBERTSON: I’m an old idealist, you’re exactly right. One last question… What’s next for Dick Armey? What are you gonna do, put on your boots and jeans and hang out in Texas, or do you have something else planned?

ARMEY: I’ll be around, you know. As Waylon Jennings said, "I may be used but I’m not used up." We’ve got a lot of big policy issues that face America, good opportunities to really do good things in the lives of the American people. And I hope that I’ll have a voice that’ll be heard in America and I’ll be working on some of the big issues like tax reform, retirement security reform. School choice, you know, is a pet issue with me for those little ones, Pat. And so, no, I’m not gonna go away, but I do intend to spend a lot more time with my wife than I had the last 18 years.

ROBERTSON: That’s great. Well, America needs you to stay in the battle. God bless you. Dick Armey, ladies and gentlemen.

ARMEY: Thank you, Pat.