Bill to test jobless, welfare beneficiaries for drugs draws controversy

AUSTIN - As top state leaders push to drug-test some Texans seeking jobless benefits and financial assistance, critics suggest the initiative would single out the powerless and hurt their children.

It's a battle that has been played out in other states - most prominently in Florida, where a drug-testing program for welfare applicants was stalled by a constitutional challenge saying it amounted to an unreasonable search.

Backers of Texas' proposal cite its narrow scope, since a leading bill targeting welfare recipients would limit testing to applicants deemed high-risk for drug use. Those who failed the test and lost benefits could reapply in a year or, if they underwent drug treatment, six months.

"The reality is, no one wants to see any Texan using drugs," said state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston. But he's a critic of the proposal, contending the poor and jobless are being singled out "because of politics, and not because of reasonable, rational policy."

"Whether you are receiving governmental assistance on welfare, whether you are a student receiving a Texas grant, whether you are an executive, a CEO, that's up here asking for money from the Enterprise Fund - I don't want to see anybody using drugs inappropriately. Now the question for me is why are we singling out this population?" he asked.

'Penalize the children?'

"Let's say you may have a mom or father who's taking care of the children who may be on drugs. In order to get the adult, you are going to penalize the children? What are you going to do then? What about the children?" Turner asked.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said lawmakers must consider unintended consequences: "If a parent is addicted to drugs, then that problem should be dealt with, and a child should not be left hungry and not caused to face health risks because of the misbehavior of a parent."

Proponents say drug users' children already are hurting, and that testing could serve as a deterrent to drug abuse or an incentive for treatment, offering a better chance for people to become employed and self-sufficient. They said treatment is available through avenues including Medicaid.

"I'm not trying to be judgmental, only to say that I'm not going to pay for people to sit on the couch and use drugs and not take care of their children," Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said in an interview on the heels of his public pronouncement of support for the idea along with Gov. Rick Perry.

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Bill to test jobless, welfare beneficiaries for drugs draws controversy