Niki Tsongas is currently serving her second term representing the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts as a member of the US House of Representatives.  She is the first woman to be elected to Congress from the state of Massachusetts in over 25 years.  Tsongas was elected in a Special Election in 2007 and holds the same seat that was held three decades earlier by her late husband, former Congressman, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Paul Tsongas.   Congresswoman Tsongas serves on the House Armed Services Committee where she is working to ensure our servicemen and women have the equipment and protection they need.  She also serves on the Budget Committee where she is focused on addressing the devastating deficits and debt created over the last eight years, while simultaneously shaping a national budget that will strengthen our economy and create jobs.   In 2009, Congresswoman Tsongas joined the Natural Resources Committee which oversees legislation related to domestic energy production, National Parks, rivers, forests, oceans and wilderness areas.   Niki Tsongas is known for her roots in the Fifth District and her years of public service to the region. The Lowell Sun described Niki Tsongas as having “experience, dedication and deep understanding of the 5th District as a whole.”   And, the chairman of Lowell Publishing Co. - who has been with the Sun since 1959 - wrote only a few weeks into her tenure, "she clearly recognizes the role she needs to play in stimulating the economy of the region and is focused on job development."