Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO) represented Missouri's Fourth Congressional District
in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977to 2011.

A leader in the House on defense issues, Skelton was appointed to the House Armed
Services Committee in 1981. He served as Chairman of the Military Forces and
Personnel Subcommittee from 1993to 1994, and as the Subcommittee’s Ranking
Democrat from 1995to 1998. After serving as the Full Committee’s Ranking Democrat
from 1998 to 2006, Skelton held the gavel as Chairman of the Armed Services
Committee from 2007to 2011.

Skelton was a key player in the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of
Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. A champion for Professional Military Education,
Skelton chaired a House Panel on Military Education in 1987and 1988 and was known
as Congress’ chief advocate for better strategic thinking and improvements in the
military’s intermediate and senior level educational programs. During his time on the
Committee, Skelton warned against further cuts in the defense budget and focused on
efforts to improve military pay, health care, and quality of lifefor service members and
their families. He also was instrumental in the enactment of the Weapon Systems
Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, which overhauled the defense procurement process.

Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District is home to Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air
Force Base, and the Missouri National Guard Ike Skelton Training Site. Skelton played
a vital role in thecreation of the Maneuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood and in
bringing the U.S. Army Engineer, Chemical, and Military Police Schools to that post. He
also helped to secure many new missions for Whiteman Air Force Base, including the
B-2 Stealth bomber and the MQ-1 Predatorcontrol mission.

Reflecting his longtime interest in military affairs and military history, Skelton developed
his own National Security Book List, a compilation of books Skelton recommends as
required reading to all officers in the Armed Forces, to Members of Congress, and to
those interested in national security issues. He is the author of Whispers of Warriors:
Essays on the New Joint Era, published by the National Defense University Press, a
compilation of twelve articles written by Skelton that were previously published in
military journals, including Aerospace Power Journal, Joint Force Quarterly, Military
Review, Naval War College Review, Parameters, and Strategic Forum.

A native of Lexington, Missouri, Skelton is a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy
and the University of Missouri at Columbia where he received A.B. and L.L.B. degrees.
He was named as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Law Review. Prior to his
election to Congressin 1976, Skelton served as Lafayette County Prosecuting Attorney
and as a Missouri State Senator. From 1961 to 1976, he was a partner in the law firm of
Bradley, Skelton, and Schelp in Lexington, Missouri.

In 2011, Skelton became a partner in the Husch Blackwell law firm, which has offices
across the United States, including Kansas City, Missouri, and Washington, D.C. He is
a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission, an advisor to the Center for
New American Security, a distinguished professor at the National Defense University
and a trustee of the of the Harry S Truman Library Foundation.

Skelton is an Eagle Scout, a member of Sigma Chi social fraternity, a Lions Club
member, and a former elder of the First Christian Church in Lexington.

He and his late wife Susan Anding Skelton have three sons and 5 grandchildren. In 2009, he married
Patricia Martin Skelton also of Lexington, Missouri.