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WASHINGTON -- Sen. Lindsey Graham will have the chance to work on a massive farm policy bill while Sen. Jim DeMint will tackle energy issues and oversee the Savannah River National Laboratory thanks to new committee assignments.

The committee assignments will take effect when Congress meets in January.

Graham, a Republican, will add the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee to the four panels he now serves on. He currently sits on the Armed Services, Budget, Judiciary and Veterans Affairs committees.

DeMint, a Republican, will take on the Foreign Relations and the Energy and Natural Resources committees. He will leave the Environment and Public Works panel but remain on Commerce, Science and Transportation as well as the Joint Economic Committee, a House-Senate panel that provides recommendations on economic policy but does not deal in legislation.

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Both senators said their new panel duties would benefit the state.

DeMint noted that South Carolina leads the nation in percentage of jobs generated by foreign-owned companies, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. He said the Foreign Relations Committee will give him the opportunity to influence trade promotion and international commerce.

As a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, DeMint said he will oversee the Energy Department, which owns the Savannah River National Laboratory, and work on policies affecting nuclear power and hydrogen research. South Carolina officials consider nuclear power and hydrogen fuel research the key building blocks for the state's economy.

DeMint said he looked "forward to helping my colleagues understand the role South Carolina is playing to lead the nation in developing many of the new technologies."

In a statement, Graham said a seat on the Agriculture Committee means he will work on rural development, agricultural trade, federal nutrition programs and farm aid issues.