Leave it to Texas Republicans to
drive right past those red signs, though.
Out of the more than 250 bills filed Monday, the first possible day to file legislation for the 83rd
session, one measure — concerning drug testing for welfare applicants —
is already drawing the support of the state’s top lawmakers and the
criticism of civil liberties advocates.
Senate Bill 11 would require applicants to the Texas Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program
to undergo a drug test. If applicants fail the test, they would not be
eligible to apply again for a full year, unless they attended a
substance abuse treatment program. The bill was written by state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, and several other Republican lawmakers.
“This will help prevent tax dollars from going into the pockets of drug abusers,” Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday at a news conference. He said that the goal of the bill is
to "empower every Texan to reach their potential," because "being on
drugs makes it harder to begin the journey to independence.”
More at the link makes for worthwhile reading, but let's present the rebuttal not mentioned by the Trib.
This program was implemented by the state of Florida and has been
demonstrated to be cost-ineffective. In fact, the cost of the testing -- not including administrative costs -- far exceeds the savings realized on denial of benefits. Nor does the "threat" of drug testing result in fewer applications for aid, according to the
Blog of Rights...
Despite the complete failure of this program to unearth anything other
than the fact that there is no overwhelming drug problem amongst
welfare applicants, the state of Florida continues to defend this law. And unfortunately, other states have followed Florida's ill-informed lead. Over 25 states introduced welfare drug testing legislation this year. You'd think that the court rulings and high costs might have logically stopped these bills, but they have not.
In these lean budgetary times, do conservatives actually want to implement a new invasive government program that wastes money we don't have?
They need to stop calling themselves fiscal conservatives if they do.
Just in case anyone was wondering, the correct governmental response is decriminalization of certain substances, followed by regulation and taxation. Once again
the American people understand what its elected leaders are
slow to figure out.
Imagine what effect this would have on the
Mexican drug wars, for just one thing.
More from
Christy Hoppe at the DMN. The argument against denying children assistance because of their parents' "violations" is laudable, but I just don't think an appeal to empathy is effective with the Republican hive mind.
Update:
Grits...
... (S)tate leaders begin to pursue yet another policy likely to reinforce the
politically toxic meme that Republicans are at war with women (and in
this case their young children). If the Governor and Lt. Governor's goal
is to help dissuade TANF recipients from drug use, eliminating their
benefits is counterproductive. If they have some other goal, maybe they
should just drop it before we have another round of embarrassing court
decisions slapping down Texas policy once again.
And Rep. Joe Deshotel, via
The Bayou...
“Senate Bill 11 is both fiscally and morally irresponsible. Its even
more egregious that it comes at a time of slow economic recovery and
while Texas has almost twice the national average of uninsured children.
It would violate personal privacy, ignore the presumption of
innocence, and continue the Legislature’s expansion of government into
our personal lives.”
