Welfare drug testing bill passed

Missouri state senators on Thursday voted to give final approval to a bill allowing the state to drug test certain welfare recipients, according to the Missouri News Horizon. This is a huge decision in what has been a much-debated topic, and could have a massive effect on social welfare in the future. The bill, which will be sent back to the House of Representatives to approve final changes, would allow the state to test Missourians who receive money from the federally financed Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program if reasonable suspicion of illegal drug use exists. While the drug screening of welfare recipients has been debated back and forth in various states and by various experts throughout the first part of this year, until now the perception had been that while it could greatly reduce welfare spending, it would be unfair and unethical to take financial aid from children and other members of a family because of one individual’s illegal behavior. Officials in Missouri have worked around this by including contain provisions that would allow payments to continue being made to children and non-drug abusing members of the household. It would also allow for continued payments if the recipient enters a drug treatment program. Legislative staffers estimate the cost to the state for testing could be $2.3 million – a small percentage of the savings that will surely come of it. Considering that such bills have already failed in Michigan, Arkansas and Kentucky over the last year or so, and this is the trend that most expected to continue due to the negative consequences of implementing this sort of social change, to see such legislation pass is a huge step forward for advocates of drug testing welfare recipients. Welfare recipients and taxpayers across the country will be closely watching developments both in Missouri and in other states.]]>