Calling for lawmakers to rise above partisan politics, U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., announced Thursday he has been selected to serve on a number of key Senate committees in the 113th Congress.Now the Hoosier state's senior senator, Coats will serve on the Appropriations, Select Intelligence, Commerce, Science, and Transportation panels, as well as the Joint Economic Committee."These important committee assignments will allow me the opportunity to continue the fight to rein in out-of-control government spending and strengthen our economic and national security," Coats said in a news release. "At a time when the greatest challenge facing our nation is excessive spending, I look forward to working on efforts to restore our fiscal health through my new role as the ranking Republican member of the Joint Economic Committee."Several political observers have noted that the new Congress will have to find ways to compromise if it expects to effectively deal with fiscal issues such as the debt ceiling. But there is also the expectation that lawmakers should tackle gun control and immigration reform sometime this year or next."Congress must find the political will to rise above partisan politics and start being honest with the American people about what is needed to get our country on a path to prosperity," says Coats. “Congress must reexamine every program and determine what is essential and how to be better stewards of taxpayer dollars. We have proven in Indiana that lower taxes, reduced spending and a more limited government is a model that works and it’s a model that needs to be implemented in Washington."
