It was a busy week in Washington that included the Senate’s vote on the Loretta Lynch nomination, passage of Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and the introduction of new bills requiring employers use e-verify to ensure they don’t hire illegal immigrants and expanding more trade opportunities for Arkansas agriculture. Read all about these in the Week in Review and find out where you can dispose of your unneeded and unused prescription drugs for tomorrow’s Arkansas Take Back. 

• Voted Against Loretta Lynch: The Senate confirmed Loretta Lynch to be the next Attorney General. I voted against her nomination because she has offered her full support for the President’s unconstitutional actions, including his attempt to offer amnesty to illegal immigrants. 

• E-Verify: When we discuss how to deal with our nation’s illegal immigration problem, one vital component is providing employers the right tools to ensure they are hiring a legal workforce. That is why I am cosponsoring the Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act of 2015. 

• Trade Opportunities for Arkansas Farmers: I joined my fellow members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry to hear from government and agriculture stakeholders on agriculture trade with Cuba, including Terry Harris, the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Risk Management at the Stuttgart-based Riceland Foods. Normalized commercial relations with Cuba are expected to create opportunities for Arkansas farmers in a nation that imports 80 percent of its food. 

• Holding VA Accountable: Little Rock's Veterans Affairs Medical Center received an $8 million grant to the build solar panels, but since construction was completed in 2013, they were never activated because they were not compatible with the local electricity grid. Congressman French Hill and I are calling for an investigation into the due diligence failures that led to this and find out why the project was given the green light. On Tuesday, I asked the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs why this was allowed to happen and what’s being done to prevent this abuse of taxpayer dollars. 

• Passage of Human Trafficking Bill: The Senate unanimously passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. If this bill becomes law, it can restore dignity to the victims of these heinous crimes and it can help end modern day slavery. 

• Improvements Needed in IRS Customer Service: How was your experience filing your 2014 income tax? As the chairman of the Subcommittee responsible for appropriating the annual IRS budget, I’m working to hold the IRS accountable for its use of taxpayer dollars and make sure it’s addressing the needs of its customers – the American taxpayers. Read my column published in The Hill about improvements needed in the agency’s customer service.
  
  
• Arkansas Take Back: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. To help fight this widespread abuse I encourage you and you, your neighbors, friends and family to participate in Arkansas Take Back and get expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs out of the home. On Saturday more than 130 collection sites across the state will take old and unneeded prescription drugs. Find a site closest to you.
  
  
• Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce Visits: Members visited Washington as part of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 56^th annual fly-in as part of the outreach to members of the Arkansas Congressional Delegation. Watch the video.