WASHINGTON — When the 113th Congress convenes in January, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., will assume a much-coveted seat on the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I’m delighted to be appointed,” Merkley said Wednesday after Democratic leadership announced committee assignments for the upcoming term.

Merkley’s appointment to the committee that determines in part how the federal government spends its money marks only the second time in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s 145-year history that a senator from Oregon has been a member. Republican Sen. Mark Hatfield, for whom Merkley interned, was the only other, twice serving as chairman.

Merkley said he had been hoping to follow in the footsteps of his mentor since he began considering running for the Senate. Between working for the Congressional Budget Office in the 1980s and spending 10 years trying to balance budgets in the Oregon Legislature, Merkley developed an appreciation for how crucial funding decisions are.

“I knew from my experience how important it is for the state to have a voice on the committee that decides how to spend money,” he said.

In exchange for spot on the Appropriations Committee, Merkley will have to give up his seat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. But he remains a member of the committees on Environment and Public Works; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Budget.

Merkley said he intends to consult heavily with the subcommittees that produce their own budgets and draw from their extensive expertise in the budgeting process. Looking ahead, he said, it is critical to continue government investments in infrastructure, education and strategies to create jobs with living wages.

“Those things are impacted by how we spend our tax dollars,” he said.

Oregon’s senior senator, Democrat Ron Wyden, will become chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He will also continue to serve on the committees on Intelligence; Finance; Budget; and Aging.

Thanks to Wyden’s seat on the Finance Committee, Oregon will now have a say in how the government raises and spends money, Merkley said.

And he relishes the connection to Hatfield’s legacy, which has continued to inspire him during his time in the Senate.

“Every day, I walk past the Hatfield tree,” he said, referring to the Metasequoia that Hatfield arranged to have planted on the Capitol grounds. Merkley’s staff takes its annual photo in front of it.

Hatfield, a senator for 30 years, died Aug. 7, 2011, at age 89.

“I have an enormous amount of respect for the way he represented Oregon. I feel it’s a real privilege to be able to follow in his footsteps,” Merkley said.