Carson City Sen. Dean Heller named to finance, other key committees

Newly in the majority, Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., has been named to a series of committee posts including the powerful Senate Finance Committee.

“Each of these committees provides an avenue for me to best serve the people of Nevada,” the Carson City native said.

In addition to Finance, Heller won seats on Commerce, Science & Transportation, Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, Veterans Affairs and the Special Committee on Aging.

He will assume those posts with the start of the 114th Congress in January.

Heller said sitting both on Finance and the Aging committee will allow him power in strengthening programs including Medicare and Social Security. And he said with 300,000 veterans living in Nevada, he will continue to fight for veteran rights to proper medical care and treatment.

But the finance seat is the most powerful since that committee controls tax and spending issues.

His House counterpart Mark Amodei holds a similar position in the House of Representatives — a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, which, like finance in the Senate, is in charge of deciding how federal money is spent.