As Sean Lengell reports for the Washington Examiner, lawmakers seem less interested these days in securing one job that used to be coveted on Capitol Hill.

Republican leaders this week named four incoming freshmen to the Senate Appropriations Committee — another sign the historically powerful panel is losing relevance and appeal among lawmakers.

A spot on the Senate Appropriations Committee used to be a highly coveted assignment that would take years to earn. Not anymore, as the once-routine practice of Congress passing annual spending bills has given way in recent years to last-minute mega “omnibus” bills or “continuing resolutions” that essentially freeze spending.

The process, which was repeated Saturday when lawmakers passed a $1.1 trillion measure to fund most federal agencies through September, in part has diminished the role of appropriators.

“For many decades, the appropriations committees were among the most desirable places to serve. … They were leadership panels that served as guardians of taxpayer money, keeping it from being wasted,” said Norm Ornstein, a congressional expert with the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.

“But now the panels are all pain and no gain — managing painful cuts in almost all programs amid deep partisan and ideological divisions over priorities. The luster is gone.”

If only the rest of Congress could lose its “luster” as well. Then we could rethink Peter Schweizer‘s recommendation to “throw them all out.”