Rep. Erik Paulsen was named Friday to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for writing tax policy.

Paulsen will join the committee's majority under incoming Chairman Dave Camp when Republicans take control of the House in the next Congress.

"I am honored my colleagues selected me to serve on the Ways and Means Committee and am grateful to be given this privilege and responsibility," Paulsen said in a statement.

Ways and Means is considered one of the major committees in Congress, because all bills that deal with tax policy must originate in the House. Members on Ways and Means generally don't serve on any other committees.

With the debate over keeping the Bush tax cuts potentially being pushed back two years through the deal President Obama and Republicans struck, the committee will be ground zero when the fight picks up again in 2012.

Paulsen will be the only Minnesotan on Ways and Means, but he follows his Republican predecessor Rep. Jim Ramstad, who was on the committee when he retired in 2008.

Paulsen had already been looking for a spot on Ways and Means when he was first elected in 2008, though he recognized it was unlikely as a freshman. With huge numbers of incoming freshmen this year, however, two were given a spot on the tax writing committee, Politico reported.