SCHAAF CO-SPONSORS BILL REQUIRING DRUG TESTING FOR WELFARE RECIPEINTS
This week the Healthcare Transformation Committee of the Missouri House, chaired by Rep. Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph), voted out a bill that would require applicants and recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program to undergo drug testing if a screen revealed a reasonable cause to suspect illegal drug use.
“We need to put strong incentives into public policy for people to not use drugs,” Dr. Schaaf, a family physician in St. Joseph, said. “We need to put the interests of the taxpayers who are footing the bill above those of people who abuse the system and let taxpayers support them while they spend their own money on drugs.”
Dr. Schaaf co-sponsored the bill, HB1377, which would require every TANF recipient and applicant to be screened, but only those suspected of illegal drug use, based upon the screen, would be tested for drug use. Under the bill, those who tested positive would be given a reasonable time to complete a drug treatment program, but those who failed, or tested positive a second time, would be ineligible for benefits for a year. Other members of the household who remain eligible would still receive benefits, but they would be administered through a third party.
“The federal law makes it difficult for us to test every applicant,” Dr. Schaaf noted. “This bill is the toughest approach we could take and avoid a successful Constitutional challenge.”
The TANF program provides cash payments only to poor families with children. “We need to take steps to protect these children from exposure to drug use and make sure that taxpayer funds are not enabling drug behavior,” Dr. Schaaf said. “These poor parents need a reason not to waste precious dollars on drugs, dollars that should be spent on their kids. This bill gives them a good reason.”
The text of the bill can be found online at http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills101/biltxt/intro/HB1377I.htm