Dear Friends, Contact tracing is used by health departments to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and is key to keeping you and your family safe. Contact tracers interview those with COVID-19 and interrupt the spread of the virus by contacting others who may have been exposed. The state of Arkansas is using contact tracers to contact citizens who may have been exposed. If you have been exposed, calls will come from (877) 272-6819, and you could be contacted up until 8:00pm. To prove it is a legitimate call, contact tracers will provide information for you to verify.  Be aware of scams: Contact tracers will not ask you for information about your bank account or charge you for the call. If you are interested in volunteering to be a contact tracer, click HERE to learn more.

The Department of Workforce Services is aware of nationwide increase in fraud schemes. Bad actors are using names and the personal information of employed and retired individuals who haven’t filed for unemployment blocking unemployment for those rightful claimants.

These cases are resulting from data breaches from up to 20 years ago. Potentially fraudulent accounts are being locked.

If your account is locked, please call the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

If you believe you are a victim of a scam, please call (501) 682-1058, email ADWS.InternalAudit@arkansas.gov, visit dws.arkansas.gov to complete the secure form, or file a police report.

The Federal Reserve created the Main Street Lending Program as part of its efforts to help bolster the economy in response to the pandemic. The Program offers five-year loans to help credit flow to small- and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Banks serve as the intermediary for the loans. The Program is administered through Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and operates through three facilities: the Main Street New Loan Facility (MSNLF), the Main Street Priority Loan Facility (MSPLF), and the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility (MSELF).

I was pleased to welcome Attorney General Barr today.  We discussed my bill, the Shift Back to Society Act, that establishes a partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help non-violent offenders successfully transition back into their community.

We discussed Arkansas’s significant progress interacting with individuals regarding behavioral health issues through the state’s crisis stabilization units and crisis intervention training program, both of which I have supported.

In addition, Attorney General Barr learned more about our state’s efforts to keep fentanyl and other deadly synthetic opioids off our streets, including Sen. Tom Cotton’s and my bill, the Ending the Fentanyl Crisis Act. Arkansas is proud of these initiatives, and I believe they can serve as a model for other states.

I am pleased to report that my hometown was honored for its commitment to improving biking and safer streets for everyone.

The Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community recognizes the city of Little Rock for making biking a safe means of recreation and transportation that benefit its residents of all ages and abilities while encouraging healthier and more sustainable transportation choices.