U.S. Senator Angus King is one of the 29 lawmakers who has been appointed to a joint House and Senate budget conference committee charged with developing a long-term budget plan by December 13.

The conference committee, which consists of 29 total members between the House and Senate, was created as part of the October 16 agreement to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling. The committee is tasked with reconciling the differences between the two budgets passed by the Senate and the House earlier this year. Senator King, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, helped to craft the Senate's budget and has been a strong proponent of moving it to conference.

• Senators on the committee are:

Democrats and Independents - Sen. Patty Murray (WA), Sen. Ron Wyden (OR), Sen. Bill Nelson (FL), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Sen. Mark Warner (VA), Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR), Sen. Chris Coons (DE), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI), Sen. Tim Kaine (VA) and Sen. Angus King (I-ME).

Republicans - Sen. Jeff Sessions (AL), Sen. Charles Grassley (IA), Sen. Mike Enzi (WY), Sen. Mike Crapo (ID), Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), Sen. Rob Portman (OH), and Sen. Pat Toomey (PA), Sen. Ron Johnson (WI), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (NH), Sen. Roger Wicker (MS).

• Members from the House of Representatives are:

Democrats - Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD), Rep. James Clyburn (SC) and Rep. Nita Lowey (NY).

Republicans - Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), Rep. Tom Cole (OK), Rep. Tom Price (GA) and Rep. Diane Black (TN).

In a statement about his appointment to the committee, Senator King said, "I am pleased to be a member of the conference committee, and I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues to develop a long-term budget that puts our nation back on a path to fiscal certainty and stability. Passing a budget is the most fundamental task of governing, and it's not been done for far too long. There is no doubt that reconciling the differences will be challenging, but it's also an invaluable opportunity for us to do some real good for the country and demonstrate to the American people that we still have the ability to govern."