TX Senator Craig Estes Proposes Mandatory Drug Screenings for Welfare Recipients

To Test or Not to Test? is the title and question my classmate is presenting on her blog, Kidnapped and Dragged to Texas. I agree with my classmate that people receiving welfare may be tested for illegal drug use. On November 13th, Governor Rick Perry and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst endorsed Texas Senator Craig Estes in his bill to require drug screenings for welfare recipients. The potential welfare recipients that may be tested are those who are applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or  Unemployment Insurance (UI). I would like to explore multiple perspectives on this issue for sake of debate, first from a legal standpoint of what the constitution declares which will be against testing and secondly from my opinion as a tax payer which will be for testing.

The fourth amendment of the United States constitution states "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized".

This is also known as the search and seizure amendment. Submitting a urine sample, piece of hair, or saliva can be classified as a search. Being a applicant or receiver of social service benefits does not serve as probable cause for a search. Some would say such requirement is an invasion of privacy.  Florida recently had a law in place to test welfare recipients. Only after four months of the law being in effect, it was deemed unconstitutional by a lower court in Florida. The lower court cited the fourth amendment in their verdict. The lower court's decision is now being appealed at the U.S. 11th Circuit of Court Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.

Now from my opinion as a tax payer, i would like to be certain that these welfare benefits are going to those who need them the most and not to those who may be using illegal drugs rather than attempting to gain employment. A law requiring welfare recipients to be tested would encourage many to stop using illegal drugs and be motivated to find work. In many cases being drug-free is a necessary factor to gain employment. Individuals against testing welfare recipients may cite that during the four months Florida tested for illegal drug use only 108 out of 4,086 people tested positive or 2.6%. Statistics show that testing is not financially prudent. However, I encourage people to think about how many individuals stopped using and possibly remained sober without illegal drugs in order to apply and receive benefits. Regardless of the cost of the program I believe it is more important to be sure our tax dollars are ending up into the right hands, those who are trying to honestly provide for themselves and their families.