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HELENA - At the start of his third year in the U.S. Senate, Jon Tester, D-Mont., said Tuesday he has won a seat on the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.

This panel, one of the most powerful in Congress, ultimately decides where the federal government will spend taxpayers' money and how much. Every appropriation for discretionary spending goes through that committee, he said.

“I think it's good news for Montana,” Tester said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. “I think we've got the ability to go to work and insert some Montana values. I think we're well-positioned to fight for Montana.”

In a statement, Tester said he will bring “Montana values of accountability and transparency to the table. But I'll also make sure that Montana has a voice when it comes to getting the most bang for the taxpayer's buck - creating jobs and investing in our future.”

As a Senate Appropriations Committee member, Tester said one of the most immediate priorities will be working with his colleagues on the economic stimulus package that President-elect Barack Obama is proposing. Tester prefers to call it a jobs package and said he will be working to pass Montana highway and bridge, water development and local government projects.

Last week, Gov. Brian Schweitzer released a list of $3.1 billion “shovel-ready” Montana stimulus projects that could begin in six months. About half are highway and bridge projects.

Getting the Appropriations Committee appointment is something that Tester said he “worked hard for.”

In 2006, Tester unseated Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., by a narrow margin in a campaign where Burns made his seniority on the Senate Appropriations Committee his major issue.

Appointed to the Appropriations Committee in 1994, his sixth year in the Senate, Burns took credit for bringing $2.2 billion in federal funds to Montana. If Montanans were to elect Tester, Burns said they would lose that clout.

Democrats fired back about two weeks before the 2006 election. The Senate's top Democratic leader, then-Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., promised Tester a seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee “as soon as possible.”

At the time, Burns' campaign manager, Erik Iverson, called Reid's statement a “hollow promise,” saying it was “so desperate that it's almost pathetic.”

Tester didn't get an Appropriations Committee appointment when he went to Washington in 2007, but has continued to push hard for a seat. He said he believes his work ethic helped him secure the coveted spot.

Tester will continue to serve on the Senate's Veterans Affairs, Banking, Homeland Security and Indian Affairs committees.

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