Practices:

• Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs
  • Federal Government Affairs
  • National Government Affairs
  • State and Local Government Affairs

Experience

Congressman David Skaggs assists clients throughout the U.S. with governmental and legislative relations strategy at the state and federal levels. He focuses on the areas of education, science and technology, national security, environment and public private partnerships.

Prior to joining MLA, Congressman Skaggs served in the cabinet of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. He was also the Governor’s appointee to chair the Colorado Higher Education Competitive Research Authority and as a Commissioner on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. While at MLA, Congressman Skaggs will remain Chair of the Board of the U. S. House of Representatives’ Office of Congressional Ethics and a Member of the U.S. Public Interest Declassification Board.

Prior to joining the Ritter administration, Congressman Skaggs was Executive Director of the Center for Democracy & Citizenship at the Council for Excellence in Government and taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado. These positions followed his twelve years of service in Congress as a U.S. Representative from the 2nd Congressional District of Colorado and three terms in the Colorado House, the last two terms as Minority Leader.

In 2005, he co-chaired the War Powers Initiative, a bi-partisan project of the Constitution Project to re-examine the respective prerogatives and responsibilities of the three branches in addressing questions about the use of military force.

While serving as a U.S. Representative, Congressman Skaggs served eight years on the House Appropriations Committee and six years on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was founding co-chair, with Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood, of the House Bipartisan Retreats.  

Congressman Skaggs was a member the Secretary of Energy’s Task Force on Nonproliferation Programs in Russia (the “Baker-Cutler Task Force”) in 1999-2000 and in 1999 served on the Secretary of State’s Overseas Presence Advisory Panel investigating security and other issues affecting the State Department’s posts abroad. 

He is a veteran of the Vietnam War and a former judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Major.

Education

• B.A., Wesleyan University
• LL.B., Yale University

Admitted

• Colorado
• District of Columbia
• New York