Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.

Biography provided by participant

U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) has represented Missouri's Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1977. His district includes Missouri's state capital, Jefferson City, and much of the Ozark region of the state. The northernmost part of the Fourth District includes Ray County, located north of the Missouri River. The southernmost point of the district is Webster County, only 30 miles from the Arkansas border. Skelton, a native of Lexington, 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 Congress, Skelton served as Lafayette County Prosecuting Attorney and as a Missouri State Senator. A leader in the House on defense issues, Skelton is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Skelton's district is home to Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air Force Base, and the Missouri National Guard Training Center. Skelton was instrumental in bringing the Army Engineer School to Fort Leonard Wood and the B-2 Stealth bomber to Whiteman. As most of the Fourth Congressional District is comprised of small towns and farming communities, Skelton looks after the needs of rural America. He is a former chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Procurement, Tourism and Rural Development and the Congressional Rural Caucus. Skelton is an Eagle Scout, a member of Sigma Chi social fraternity, a Lions Club member, and vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Skelton is an elder of the First Christian Church in Lexington. He and his late wife Susie have three sons.