The immigration debate starts, the farm bill passes, I host another telephone town hall and more in this edition of the “Week in Review”

• Senate Passes a Farm Bill: I am pleased that we overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan farm bill this week. Considering that agriculture is Arkansas’s top industry, passage of a farm bill is vital to our state’s economic recovery.
  
  
• Why I Oppose the Current Immigration Bill: The Senate began debating an immigration reform bill this week. While this debate is overdue and there are reasonable measures that we can take to reform our immigration system, the bill brought forth in the Senate fails to provide the necessary actions that will keep us from having to revisit this issue in the future.
  
  
• Telephone Town Hall Recap: On Monday night, we held our third telephone town hall of the year. Over the course of an hour, I visited with callers from Fayetteville, Ozark, West Memphis, Bentonville, Bryant, Cane Hill, Blytheville, Gentry, West Helena, Springdale, and Gravette. Read a recap and sign-up to take part in the next one.
  
  
• The Unaffordable Care Act: Another week, more troubling news about the President’s health care law. This time it’s that the law actually makes insurance less affordable for lower income workers.
  
  
• Challenges to Our Transportation System: At the Senate Appropriations Committee, we are exploring ways to do more with less money. The highway bill Congress passed last year will improve our roads and bridges conditions, and it requires the U.S. Department of Transportation to eliminate wasteful bureaucracy that causes costly and harmful delays to projects. You can watch as I question witnesses from the Department of Transportation to make sure that these cost-saving reforms are implemented as required by the law. 

• Recovering from Severe Weather: Arkansas is no stranger to severe weather, including the recent floods that took the lives of Scott County Sheriff Cody Carpenter and Arkansas Game and Fish Officer Joel Campora. My column this week honored their lives and outlines efforts to protect Arkansans from severe weather.
   
• Continuing our Commitment to our Veterans: As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs I have a unique opportunity to help improve the quality and delivery of veterans’ benefits.  This week the committee heard testimony from VA representatives and major Veterans’ Service Organizations regarding some of the legislation recently introduced. 

• Jasper Fire Dept. Receives Grant: Senator Mark Pryor and I announced this week that the Jasper Fire Department will receive a $370,300 grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program to improve their operations and safety.
   
• Flag Day: Today is Flag Day. Read about how the American flag became one of the most recognized symbols throughout the world