[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18845-18846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO IKE SKELTON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ike 
Skelton, the Congressman who has been serving the Fourth District in 
the State of Missouri since 1976. I have had the great honor of working 
with Mr. Skelton on the Armed Services Committee for my 14 years in 
Congress, and he will be leaving this body at the end of this year. And 
I think Ike simply embodies the best of Congress and the best of this 
country.
  I remember I was traveling with him one time overseas to visit our 
troops, as he did relentlessly. And he was talking with someone from a 
foreign country about what the highest compliment was in America. And 
the highest compliment in America is, ``You know, he's a good guy.'' 
And when you think of Ike Skelton, that is the absolute least you think 
of him. He is absolutely a good guy to so many people.
  When most of us get into Congress in the first place, it is a very, 
very confusing place. Thousands of issues come at you from thousands of 
directions. And the first thing I noticed about Ike is he always took 
the time, with every single one of us who came to his Armed Services 
Committee, to work with us and help us understand the process.
  In part, he did that because that's just the kind of person he is. He 
cares about other people to a degree that is fairly well unprecedented. 
He takes care of other people and cares about them. But also he cares 
about the military, and he cares about the Armed Services Committee. He 
wants to make sure that Members understand how important service on 
that committee is, and he's worked with all of us.
  He has done a fabulous job, certainly, representing the Fourth 
District of the State of Missouri, but more than that, he has done a 
fabulous job of representing our troops.
  When Ike Skelton talks about this body, that is the first thing that 
he talks about--our obligation as Members of Congress to make sure that 
we

[[Page 18846]]

take care of the men and women who serve in our military and their 
families. I can honestly say there are a lot of Members of Congress who 
place that as a high priority. I don't think there is a single Member 
of Congress who places that as high a priority as Ike Skelton does.
  He has cared for our troops from the time he got into Congress, and 
has been responsible for many, many pieces of legislation, and has made 
sure they've been taken care of.
  More than that, Ike was a mentor and a friend to me, personally. I've 
served on the committee with him since I got elected to Congress. He 
always took the time to work with me on issues, to educate me, and also 
to look after my interests in my district as well. He understood that, 
as much as he was standing up for the State of Missouri and the Fourth 
District, his country came first. And the entire country was his 
priority. And he did a great job for us on that committee.
  It is with great sadness that he will be leaving this body, but I 
know that Ike will continue to be a very, very productive member of our 
society. The knowledge that he has of our armed services and the 
knowledge that he has of what is best for our troops will continue to 
serve this country for a long time to come.
  It was a great honor to serve with him, and I am certain he will 
continue to serve our country in many capacities in a way that makes it 
better, because that's the kind of guy he is. He cares about other 
people. He cares about this country. More than anything, he cares about 
the troops who serve this country, and he will always be a tireless 
advocate for them.

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