Hirono named subcommittee chair

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, was named the chairwoman of the Senate’s Oversight, Federal Rights and Agency Action Committee Thursday.

The subcommittee was created at the beginning of the 113th Congress to provide oversight and review of agency rule making and agency action. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who currently chairs the subcommittee, is stepping down to take over a gavel on another committee. Hirono, who joined the Judiciary Committee at the beginning of the 113th Congress and has been a leader on a range of issues including immigration and sentencing reform, takes over April 1.