Norman D. Dicks: “I wanted to rise today to celebrate the great career of Ike Skelton. He and I were classmates. We came here in 1976--he…”

“I wanted to rise today to celebrate the great career of Ike Skelton. He and I were classmates. We came here in 1976--he went on the Armed Services Committee; I went on the Appropriations Committee--and we have always worked together. The issue that I have always enjoyed working with Ike on is the B-2 bomber, the Stealth Bomber. We worked on that. We went out to Missouri many times, to Whiteman. I think that was one of the finest weapons systems that has been developed, and we worked together on converting it to a conventional bomber, which made it a lot more effective, and it has been utilized. I want to also say that Ike has a tremendous concern about the troops. He has got family members who serve in the military, and he has always been an advocate for the troops. I just want to commend him on his outstanding career and on his great service to this country. The fact that this bill is being named after him is totally appropriate. I ask everyone to support the bill.”