Coats Named To Senate Finance Committee

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican Sen. Dan Coats has been named to the Senate Finance Committee for the 114th Congress, becoming the first Indiana senator to serve on the key panel since former Sen. Vance Hartke in 1976.

The Finance Committee has the largest jurisdiction of any congressional committee, overseeing more than 50 percent of the nation's budget. Its responsibilities include Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, all tax policy, international trade, several welfare programs and the nation's debt.

Coats says the assignment will allow him "to tackle many of the biggest fiscal challenges our country is facing."

Coats will continue to serve on the U.S. Select Committee on Intelligence and the Joint Economic Committee.