Speaker Biographies

U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO)

Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee

Congressman Ike Skelton has represented Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1977. A House leader on defense issues, Skelton has served as the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee since 1999. He is also a member of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.

Skelton was instrumental in the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. He chaired a House panel on military education from 1987 to 1988 and has advocated better strategic thinking and improvements in the intermediate and senior-level educational programs for the four services. A former chair of the Subcommittee on Military Forces and Personnel, Skelton has warned against further cuts in the defense budget and focused on efforts to improve military pay, health care, and quality of life.

As most of the Fourth Congressional District is composed of small towns and farming communities, Skelton also looks after the needs of rural America. He is a former chair of a House small business subcommittee and is past chair of the Congressional Rural Caucus.

Skelton has received a variety of awards and honors throughout his career. Among the many recognitions are the Outstanding Legislator Award from the Association of the United States Army, the Secretary’s Award from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the James Forrestal Memorial Award from the National Defense Industrial Association, an honorary master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College, and an honorary degree from the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

A native of Lexington, Missouri, Skelton is a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy and the University of Missouri at Columbia, where he earned A.B. and L.L.B. degrees. He was named a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Law Review. Prior to his election to Congress, Skelton served as Lafayette County prosecuting attorney and as a Missouri state senator.