Ike Skelton

Infobox_Congressman
name = Ike Skelton


date of birth = birth date and age|1931|12|20
place of birth = Lexington, Missouri
occupation = attorney
residence = Lexington, Missouri
alma_mater = Wentworth Military Academy, University of Missouri, University of Edinburgh
state = Missouri
district = 4th
term_start = January 4, 1977
preceded = William Randall
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Democrat
religion = Disciples of Christ
spouse = "Widowed"
Susan Anding Skelton
(married 1961–2005)

Isaac Newton "Ike" Skelton IV (born December 20 1931) has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1977. A Democrat, he represents ushr|Missouri|4|. The district includes most of the west-central part of the state, including the state capital, Jefferson City. Skelton is currently the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, being selected at the start of the 110th Congress. He had previously served as the highest ranking Democrat on the Committee since 1998.

Early life, career, and education

Skelton was born in Lexington, Missouri, where he still lives today. As a boy, he met Harry Truman, whom he still admires. He is an Eagle Scout.cite web | author = | year = | url = http://members.cox.net/scouting179/Eagle%20Distinguished.htm | title = Distinguished Eagle Scouts | format = | work = | publisher = Troop & Pack 179 | accessdate = 2006-03-02] He received an A.A. from Wentworth Military and Junior College in 1951. He received an A.B. from the University of Missouri–Columbia in 1953 and became a brother of Sigma Chi and Alpha Phi Omega while there. He attended the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1953. He received an LL.B. from University of Missouri–Columbia in 1956] . He became a lawyer, working in private practice in Lafayette County, Missouri.

He was a prosecuting attorney from 1957 until 1960 and a special assistant attorney general. Skelton was a member of the Missouri State Senate from Lafayette County from 1971 until 1977. When William J. Randall retired after 17 years as Congressman, Skelton won the Democratic nomination to succeed him by winning 40% of the vote in a nine candidate Democratic primary.cite book
author = Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa
year = 1981
title = The Almanac of American Politics 1982
publisher = Barone and Company
location = Washington, D.C.
isbn = 0-940702-01-0
page = 620]

Congressional career

Skelton is generally described as a moderate-to-conservative Democrat. He sides with social conservatives on hot-button social issues such as abortion, crime, gun control, and gay rights, but on the economic front his record is more varied as he is strongly supportive of labor. [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400377 GovTrack: Ike Skelton ] ] Skelton has a mixed record on environmental issues with his most recent rating from the League of Conservation Voters at 53 percent. He was one of the few congressional Democrats to vote in favor of CAFTA and mostly supports free trade deals. While he voted against the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, Skelton has cast votes in support of numerous Republican-initiated tax bills.

Before the election, Skelton told "Newsweek"'s George Will that his main priority as chairman of the Armed Services Committee will be "oversight, oversight, oversight!" While he voted for the war in Iraq, he has expressed serious misgivings about troop readiness. He favors reducing the number of troops in Iraq, and even favors redeploying a brigade from Iraq to Kuwait. Will suggested that under Skelton, the Armed Services Committee would resemble a United States Senate committee created to examine defense spending during World War II. This committee was chaired by Skelton's hero, Truman. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14966283/site/newsweek/page/2/ msnbc.msn.com] ]

Committee assignments

* Armed Services Committee (Chairman)

Personal information

His wife of 44 years, Susan Anding Skelton, died on August 23, 2005. Later that year, on November 26, Skelton was injured when a van carrying him and fellow Congressmen Tim Murphy and Jim Marshall overturned near Baghdad Airport while on an official visit to Iraq. Skelton and Murphy were airlifted to a US Military hospital in Germany after complaining of neck pain. Both made a full recovery.

In September 2008 Congressman Skelton announced that he was engaged to a long time friend and middle school councellor from his home town.

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/skelton/ U.S. Congressman Ike Skelton] , official site
** [http://www.house.gov/skelton/natsec_booklist.html Skelton's National Defense University Reading List]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ike_Skelton Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia
* [http://www.skeltonforcongress.com/ Ike Skelton for Congress] , official campaign site