WASHINGTON — Rep. Jeff Fortenberry will have even more influence over the federal government's purse strings in the next Congress.

The Lincoln Republican who represents much of eastern Nebraska announced Thursday that he has been tapped to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. Even in an age of budget austerity and earmark moratoriums, members still seek out seats on that committee.

In many ways, money means the ability to influence policy.

“As the government spends, so the government does,” Fortenberry told The World-Herald.

He said the committee faces the difficult task of meeting all of the federal government's obligations while still working on its significant budget deficits.

Members of such top-tier House committees are not allowed to serve on any others so Fortenberry has to give up his seats on the Foreign Affairs and Agriculture Committees. He is now chairman of the Agriculture Committee's subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight and Credit.

No Nebraskan will serve on the House Agriculture Committee in the next Congress. Fortenberry called giving up his other assignments a difficult trade-off.

But he also noted that the Appropriations Committee has sway over foreign operations and farm policy through the spending measures it approves.

Fortenberry's plum assignment now means that the three congressmen from Nebraska, all Republicans, will hold seats on A-list committees.

Rep. Adrian Smith is a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, while Rep. Lee Terry is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and was just announced as the next chairman of its Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee.

“Hopefully it says a lot to the constituents back home that we've worked hard to try to position ourselves in the body to have a maximum impact here,” Fortenberry said.

Contact the writer: 202-630-4823, joe.morton@owh.com