Gov. Walker hoping drug testing restrictions removed so Wisconsin can test welfare recipients

The requirement is a central component to his welfare reform package, apparently.

Tying drug tests to public benefits has been a priority for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for some time.

Walker has made that clear that drug free is an essential part of a growing economy and that the drug testing requirement for those on public assistance is a central component of his welfare reform package.

House leaders in Washington now say they will vote on that very thing. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy calls it a “moral, economic, and constitutional issue.”

“I hear from so many employers who say,” Walker explained back in January, “‘Yeah, it’s great, all the training and education you’re doing. But I need workers now. And I need people who can do two basic things: People who know basic, fundamental job skills and people who can pass a drug test.'”

Walker says Wisconsin isn’t as interested in cutting off benefits, as much as it is in getting drug users needed treatment.  

The results of similar drug-testing plans have been lacking. In 2015, 10 states with established drug-testing plans, spent $850,909 testing those using the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The results of those states combined were 321 positive drug tests.

Walker and the governors of Texas, Utah and Mississippi sent a letter last week to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady in support of the measure that would remove limitations put in place under President Barack Obama.

Walker has repeatedly pushed the federal government to remove restrictions that don’t allow tying benefits to drug tests. Walker appealed directly to President Donald Trump in a December letter, urging him to return power to state by eliminating federal limitations.