WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Friday District Congressman Tom Cole was officially appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee -- the only Oklahoma congressman to currently serve there.

Cole will be busy.

Now in his fourth term in office, Cole will join 23 other Republicans on the 60-member committee. He was one of only two congressmen chosen for Appropriations this year.

"I've been trying for six years to get on Appropriations," he said. "And now things are looking up."

Charged with writing the nation's budget, the House Appropriations Committee -- and its 13 subcommittees -- has jurisdiction over the spending bills which fund all federal government agencies.

Each of the 13 subcommittees develops an annual appropriations bill targeted toward a specific area of government. And while Cole was hesitant to say which subcommittee he would be assigned to, he did say he was "pleased with where I think I'm going to start."

"I'm very pleased to have been appointed to serve on the House Appropriations Committee," Cole said. "This has been a goal of mine since I arrived in Congress. For the last two years Oklahoma has not had a member from either party in the House or the Senate so this is an important development for our state."

Cole said he would bring "a conservative voice" to the committee.

"I'll bring an Oklahoma set of viewpoints -- in terms of the overall level of spending -- to the committee," he said. "Right now Oklahomans are not in sync with the rest of the country, they are more conservative."

But even with that philosophy, he said having a seat on the committee allows him to ensure federal funds are "spent on things which match our (Oklahomans') priorities. We haven't had a voice on the Appropriations Committee or the Ways and Means Committee since Istook and Wes left. So, now, being on Appropriations helps ensure we're not left out."

Those priorities include everything from military spending to funding for the district's higher education institutions.

"In Oklahoma there are things that people care about spending money on; they care a lot about military spending, about the higher ed system," he said. Additionally, interests in infrastructure needs such as water, transportation and, in the fourth district, tribal issues are all "very substantial," he said. "It's important that our state has someone in that process."

Cole said the committee's work will begin almost immediately.

With their first meeting set for Monday, he said the schedule for the Appropriations Committee will be hectic because of a stimulus package being developed by incoming president Barack Obama. Recently, Obama has pushed Congress to have the bill ready for him once he assumes office later this month.

Cole said Congress will have some type of legislation "probably by the middle of February."