Westford's congresswoman, Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell), was named as the ranking Democratic member on the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Monday.

Tsongas hopes to use the leadership role to continue working on issues such as improving body armor for the troops and addressing sexual assault in the military.

"I am honored to have earned the respect of my colleagues over the past five years and look forward to using my leadership role to help keep our military the best equipped and best protected in the world," said Tsongas in a released statement. "This role provides me an opportunity to work across the aisle to ensure the policies and procedures put in place to support of our servicemembers are followed through fully and efficiently."

In addition to her role on the Armed Services Committee, Tsongas is also a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, where she serves a subcommittee that oversees national parks.