[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11621]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                DRUG TESTING FOR WELFARE RECIPIENTS ACT

  (Mr. ROUZER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, if you work, you should be better off than 
if you don't work. That is why, earlier this week, I introduced the 
Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Act. This bill is designed to 
improve welfare programs by requiring recipients who have a known 
history of drug use to pass a drug test for eligibility.
  I am a firm believer that we have a moral obligation to help those in 
need who cannot help themselves; yet it is critically important to get 
the incentives right so that these programs are not abused.
  Mr. Speaker, most employers require workers to pass a drug test as a 
condition for employment. The government should expect the same of 
people who receive welfare benefits. If recipients can't meet the basic 
standards of employment, in essence, they are trapped in a cycle of 
welfare dependency.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe this bill is one step in the right direction 
to improve our welfare programs, and I encourage my colleagues to 
support this commonsense bill.

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