Congress urged to lift food stamp drug testing ban

urged congressional lawmakers via a letter to support a proposal that would give states the right to drug-test food stamp recipients. Republican Rep. Robert Aderholt introduced a proposal in February that would scrap the drug-test restriction, aiming to reduce fraud and abuse within the food stamp system. The eleven Republican governors that sent the letter in support are urging others in Congress to also support the proposal. “We believe that Congress specifically gave states the flexibility to decide whether to implement this common-sense reform,” the letter noted. “Welfare programs typically have job training requirements as a core element, we write today to express our sincere confidence that drug testing recipients of SNAP benefits is not only lawful, but will aid in our ability to move individuals off of this welfare program.” Welfare drug testing has long been a point of contention in politics – and this certainly isn’t the first attempt to implement it. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, for example, joined the letter following several failed attempts of his own to drug test welfare recipients in his state. “The legislation authored by Congressman Robert Aderholt confirms states’ rights to drug test SNAP recipients, and we look forward to working with him on this crucial issue and implementing this common-sense reform in Wisconsin,” Walker said in a statement. Opponents, however, claim that the cost of implementing these drug tests far exceed any savings. One study suggests that states spent $850,909.25 on welfare drug testing regimes in 2015 to uncover just 321 positive tests.]]>