The Senate approves constructing the Keystone pipeline, connecting with students on skype and cosponsoring legislation to audit the Federal Reserve are some of the highlights of the week. Read about these and more in this “Week in Review.”

• Lifting Ban on Travel to Cuba: I joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce legislation that would end restrictions on travel to Cuba unfairly imposed on American citizens and legal residents. I believe that the way you change the world is through personal relationships. If we are serious about bringing real change to Cuba, we need to expose the Cuban people to our democratic ideals.

• Senate Approves Keystone Pipeline: After more than three weeks of debate and votes on several amendments, the Senate passed, with my support, the Keystone pipeline. I encourage the President to join with Congress to get this project moving, instead of being the one to hold it back.

• Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman: I’m proud to serve as the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Commodities, Markets, Trade and Risk Management for the 114^th Congress. This subcommittee’s work is important to the wellbeing of our agricultural economy and protecting producers. 

• Skype with Schools:  During National School Choice Week I had the opportunity to skype with students at Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville and LISA Academy in central Arkansas. Students at these public charter schools said having educational options was important to them because it allows them to be better prepared for their interests beyond high school graduation. Watch the KNWA story about my skype session with Haas Hall students. 

• Loan Extension for Farmers Impacted by Turner Grain: The loan repayment extension for farmers impacted by the collapse of Turner Grain expires next week. The Arkansas Congressional delegation sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking to defer loan repayments until the bankruptcy proceedings are completed. 

• Protecting Religious Minorities: I joined my colleagues on a letter urging Secretary of State John Kerry to do more to protect Assyrian Christians and other minorities in the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq from the attacks of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. 

• Recognizing the Retirement of a Veterans Advocate: Lt. Col (ret.) Steve Gray’s passionate advocacy has resulted in better service offerings at veterans’ facilities across Arkansas. His work is reflected in the lives that he helped make better by solving an individual’s problem with the Department of Veterans Affairs. I recognized his service in a speech on the Senate floor.  

• Audit the Fed: I cosponsored legislation introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to make the Federal Reserve’s policies more transparent. The legislation would allow for an audit of the Federal Reserve and make it subject to Congressional oversight.