Will drug testing for food stamps become law in Wisconsin under Trump admin.?

Federal government blocked the law in state already.

As lawmakers in Madison get ready to start a new session, there’s renewed optimism among republicans that more of their agenda will become reality.

One of those includes a state law that already mandates drug testing for food stamp recipients, but has been blocked by the federal government, so far and for good reason, according to Onalaska state rep. Steve Doyle.

“It doesn’t really make sense from a financial standpoint,” Doyle said. 

Doyle and others see it as something that is completely ineffective

“We debated that issue on the floor of the legislature,” Doyle said. “People pointed out the cost of the testing compared to the very, very, very few people who actually tested positive.

“Whether the federal government approves it or not, it doesn’t seem like a good way to spend our hard earned tax dollars. There’s just no payback to it.”

It, however, hasn’t stopped Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker from already pushing the incoming presidential administration to allow the state’s drug testing program to go forward.

It’s not clear whether the new presidential regime will agree to the change.  

“Nobody really knows what the Trump administration is going to do, and what kind of approach he’s going to take on many issues, given they didn’t really discuss issues in the campaign, they just discussed personalities,” Doyle said. 

Walker has sent a letter to president-elect Trump, requesting approval for the drug testing, as well as other programs that have, until now, been blocked by the Obama administration.