WASHINGTON (AP) Rep. Tom Price of Georgia has been named as the next chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee a possible stepping stone toward a higher leadership post in Congress.

The committee represents the party's conservative core and now counts more than half of House Republicans as members. It has become influential in internal House GOP politics, and Republican leaders take pains not to cross the group.

Price, from Roswell, is a former Senate majority leader in the Georgia Legislature. First elected to Congress in 2004, he has raised his profile and burnished his conservative credentials by serving as a lead Republican advocate on major legislative disputes. He is frequently found on the House floor ridiculing Democrats.

He will replace Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas as committee chairman.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)