Washington ? Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback is likely to snag a coveted seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee when Congress convenes next year.

Brownback, a Republican, was on a congressional trip to China on Tuesday, but aides confirmed he would serve on the powerful spending panel unless a longer-serving senator changed his or her mind.

It is unlikely someone with more seniority will choose the appropriations job, because senators already have requested committee assignments. But if that happens, Brownback will instead serve on the Senate Finance Committee, which handles tax legislation.

“It is extremely likely that Sen. Brownback will be serving on either the appropriations committee or the finance committee in the next Congress,” Brownback spokesman Erik Hotmire said.

The Senate and House appropriations panels control the government’s purse strings; the U.S. Constitution requires “appropriations made by law” before federal dollars can be spent. Membership on the committees is coveted because lawmakers can influence how much money goes to their states and to their priorities.

Another Kansan, Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt, is a six-year member of the House Appropriations Committee. His spokesman said “it will be a great development for our state” if Brownback joins the Senate panel.

However, the Senate has complicated rules governing who serves on which committees. If Brownback moves to appropriations or finance, he must give up his seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and possibly the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he is in line to lead a subcommittee on the Middle East.

Advocacy groups that work on human rights and trade issues are lobbying Senate leaders to waive the rules and allow Brownback to remain on the foreign relations panel, an exemption that has been granted to other senators in years past.

Aides said Brownback would keep his spot on the Senate Commerce Committee.