Paulsen gets timely subcommittee assignments

Newly elected Minnesota Congressman Erik Paulsen’s subcommittee assignments will put him at the center of the debate in Washington about the nation’s and the world’s financial markets.

Paulsen, a Republican who was elected last November to replace retiring 3rd Congressional District GOP veteran Jim Ramstad, was appointed earlier this month to the House Financial Services Committee. Paulsen found out this week that he will sit on three Financial Services subcommittees: Oversight and Investigations, Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, and Domestic and International Monetary Policy.

The Financial Services Committee and its subcommittees have been important stops in the legislative process for the Wall Street bailout legislation that has been offered to stem the on-going financial crisis.

The Financial Institutions subcommittee oversees all financial regulators like the Federal Reserve. The Monetary Policy subcommittee is concerned with major institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The Oversight panel has broad jurisdiction to look into the government’s handling of financial investigations.

Two other members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation sit on the Financial Services Committee: Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison and Sixth District Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Paulsen is a former state House majority leader from Eden Prairie.