Fellow Hoosiers, I want to take a moment to give you an update on my Indiana-focused efforts in the U.S. Senate. In January, my office released a 2013 Annual Report that provides a look at my legislative efforts, an overview of my work on behalf of Hoosiers, and a snapshot of my travels around Indiana in 2013. You can view the report on my website at www.donnelly.senate.gov. I'd like to fill you in on the progress we've made so far in 2014 on some of the priorities detailed in this report.

First, I have long said that one of my top goals is closing the skills gap between Hoosier workers and the thousands of good jobs currently going unfilled around our state today. I was pleased to hear that Vice President Joe Biden will lead a new effort to review federal job training programs to identify which programs actually lead to participants finding jobs.

This new effort aligns with the objectives of my AMERICA Works Act and Skills Gap Strategy Act --we must better prioritize existing workforce training programs to reflect the skills and certifications that employers need.

Second, I continue to believe in the importance of doing all we can to end the scourge of suicide among our servicemembers.

My first bill in the Senate, the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act, was inspired by an Indiana National Guard member who tragically took his own life in 2009 while on leave from Afghanistan. Last year, my bipartisan amendment requiring a Department of Defense assessment of new tools, such as those in the Sexton Act, that could be implemented to better screen servicemembers for mental health needs and suicidal risk factors was adopted by the Armed Services Committee. This report is due to me this month.

I am committed to the ongoing mission of getting our servicemembers and veterans who are struggling with mental health issues the help they need before they resort to taking their own life.

And third, I am happy to report that, after years of negotiations, Congress has finally passed a bipartisan, five-year farm bill. The law will give Hoosier farmers the certainty they need and an opportunity to reap the rewards of their hard work, while knowing there is a safety net in the event of natural disasters and other events outside of a farmer's control.

While the bill is not perfect, it received broad bipartisan support because the future of agriculture is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue -- it is an American issue.

I am proud to have the chance to advocate for the Indiana ag community as a member of the Agriculture Committee.

It is an honor to serve you in the United States Senate.

To learn more about my work on these and many other issues, to see a copy of our 2013 Annual Report, or to simply let me know what issues are important to you, please visit my website at www.donnelly.senate.gov. I look forward to hearing from you.

(Joe Donnelly is a Democratic Senator from Indiana.)