Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Passing A Drug Test Be Required For Welfare Benefits? (S. 64)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 64?

(Updated January 12, 2021)

This bill would require state to test applicants and recipients of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for illegal drug use. Testing would be done at the state’s discretion — randomly or at scheduled intervals. 

State TANF programs would be required to deny benefits to people who test positive for illegal drugs and people who are convicted of drug-related crimes. Anyone denied benefits through either of these conditions would have to successfully complete a drug rehabilitation program and not fail a drug test for six months to have their assistance restored. TANF recipients can continue to receive assistance during that six month period so long as they don’t fail a drug test, and have never been convicted of a drug-related felony.

If a TANF applicant has been denied assistance three times because of failed drug tests or drug crime convictions, or any combination of failed tests and convictions, they would be permanently barred from receiving benefits from the state.

This bill would take effect one year after its enactment and states would be given a grace period in which to introduce conforming state-level legislation, if necessary. State governors would be required to certify that their state’s testing program conforms to the requirements established in this legislation.

Argument in favor

These federal benefits should only be available to those who earnestly want to get back on their feet — people who abuse illegal drugs have clearly not made that commitment. This drug testing program would weed out the people who should not be collecting benefits funded by taxpayer dollars.

Argument opposed

Illegal drug use is not higher among the welfare beneficiary population than it is in the general population —  legislation like this aims to target the needy, creating stigmas about the poor, and whether they "really need" benefits. There are also questions about the constitutionality of these tests.

Impact

People who receive (or are eligible for) TANF benefits, their families, state welfare programs that administer TANF, state governors, the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Cost of S. 64

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth:

In terms of their effectiveness, questions have been raised about the cost of testing welfare recipients for drug use, and also whether welfare recipients are more likely than the general population to abuse drugs.


The constitutionality of drug tests administered by states without cause has been debated by the U.S. Supreme Court, but in situations unrelated to welfare. In 1997, it ruled in an 8-to-1 decision that Georgia’s requirement for drug testing candidates for state offices violated the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on suspicion-less searches because the candidates weren’t a genuine threat to public safety.


However, the U.S. Supreme Court may soon get its chance to weigh in on drug testing welfare recipients, as a federal appeals court struck down Florida’s law in December 2014 and the state is considering an appeal to the nation’s highest court.


Of Note:

This bill requires each state’s drug testing programs to conform with the federal government’s definition of “illegal drug” - which is defined in section 802 of the Controlled Substances Act. This is problematic, as this law defines marijuana as an illegal drug, despite its legalization for medical purposes in 23 states plus the District of Columbia, and for recreational purposes in four states.


Media:

Sponsoring Senator David Vitter (R-LA) Press Release (Previous Version)

89.3 KPCC (Previous Version)

TIME (Previous Version - Opposed)

CLASP (Context - Opposed)

U.S. News & World Report (Context)

Wall Street Journal (Context)

MLive (Context)


(Photo Credit: 100PercentFedUp.com)