[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)] [House] [Pages H7834-H7835] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] HONORING CONGRESSMAN IKE SKELTON (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, Ike Skelton is my brother. He and I are both Sigma Chi's. There's a lot of misinformation and misapprehension about fraternities and sororities. Sigma Chi was founded by seven individuals, one of whom was a gentleman named Jordan, and the Jordan standard requires of those who pledge that fraternity to live by certain standards. Those standards are what we would expect of all of us and hope for all of us. I have been a member of that fraternity for over half a century. No Sigma Chi that I have met has been more faithful to meeting the standards of conduct and character and courage and fidelity to purpose than my brother Ike Skelton. Ike Skelton is the father of a Sigma Chi and the son of a Sigma Chi and the grandfather of a Sigma Chi. Is that correct, Ike? I think I have it in order. But Ike Skelton has been a colleague in this Congress. Ike Skelton, as Mrs. Emerson said and as Speaker Pelosi said, and as others will say, is the quintessential example of what the American public would hope all of us would be. He's thoughtful, a great intellect, faithful, patriotic, and he teared, of course, as he mentioned the troops, the men and women who serve this country in uniform, the men and women who have had no greater advocate than Ike Skelton of Missouri, the men and women of our Armed Forces who have had no greater advocate in terms of not only the quality of their lives, their housing, their health care, their benefits, but also the assurance that they had the best technology that was available to make them not only as effective but, as importantly, as secure and safe as they could possibly be. Ike Skelton is a good and decent man who has served his country extraordinarily well. He quoted the Tennyson poem, ``Ulysses.'' What a wonderful poem. He didn't quote the end of it, which is essentially that Ulysses, then old, Telemachus, the king, left to his son the duties of being king and brought his band of brothers together to go forth to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. There is no doubt in my mind, Mr. Speaker, that Ike Skelton will continue to be an extraordinarily faithful citizen of this country, an unswerving supporter of those in uniform, of our Armed Forces, and of our national security, and one who will uphold the highest standards that this institution would hope all of its Members maintain, and he will continue to strive to seek to find and we know he will not yield. But in not yielding on principle, he will be faithfully courteous and respectful of others, as he has been every day on this floor, in his committee, and in the hallways of our offices. His late wife was named Susan. My oldest daughter is named Susan. Susan Skelton, in the spring of 1981, came to Bowie, Maryland, and knocked on doors, and the doors opened and she said, I would like you to vote for Steny Hoyer for Congress. I loved Susan. We lost Susan a few years ago. She was [[Page H7835]] like her husband--a beautiful, beautiful person. It is a sad day that Ike Skelton leaves this Chamber. It will not be today but in a few weeks, but it is a wonderful day for all of us to count ourselves blessed by being part of the life of this extraordinary, good, and decent man, Ike Skelton of Missouri. Ike Skelton, patriot. Ike Skelton, a wonderful, great American. Thank you, Ike Skelton. ____________________