Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) will continue as the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) chairman in the next two-year Congress, the 111th Congress, the House Democratic Caucus decided.

Skelton became chairman two years ago when Democrats were voted into control of the House after a dozen years of a Republican majority. Previously, he was the ranking Democrat.

The HASC authorizes military programs, including missiles and missile defense, while the House Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee handles legislation actually appropriating money that the military can spend on each program.

With Skelton as chairman, the HASC two years ago rejected extremely deep cuts in the Airborne Laser (ABL) program that were voted by the HASC strategic forces subcommittee, substituting far lesser cuts instead ($298 million, instead of the subcommittee level of $148 million.)

For two years, the HASC position has been to fully fund advanced or operational ballistic missile defense (BMD) programs, such as the Aegis/Standard Missile sea-based system, while cutting, questioning or limiting spending on developmental or not-yet-deployed systems such as ABL or the European Missile Defense system.

Skelton said Congress must "prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction" across the globe, an apparent reference to Iran and North Korea having nuclear programs and missiles of steadily longer range.

But Skelton also said Congress must "understand the implications of the current economic crisis" for the military. As the economy weakens, revenues flowing to government coffers dwindle as business activity slows, while spending on the unemployed rises, increasing federal budget deficits.

All of that tends to mean less money available for federal programs, including defense.