Wyatt supports bill to drug test TANF recipients

The 2011 legislative session is underway in Missouri, and Representative Zachary Wyatt (R-District 2) is a co-sponsor of a new drug testing bill.

The bill would implement drug testing for recipients of government aid through the program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a policy that has raised concerns for some.  

TANF is a federally funded program administered through the Missouri Department of Social Services that provides cash assistance to families for a lifetime limit of five years.

The bill would require the Missouri Department of Social Services to test TANF recipients suspected of drug use based on a screening process that the department would be required to develop, according to the bill.  

Those who test positive for illegal drug use would be ineligible to receive TANF for one year and would be referred to a rehabilitation center, but the families still could receive TANF assistance through a third party payee, according to the bill.

Wyatt said he supports the bill because it is important to make sure government funds are distributed to people who will not use the money to support a drug habit.

"You're going to get the people that are getting the hand-out, the constant hand-out, and they are using it for their fix and that's not right," Wyatt said.

Last congressional session, the House passed a similar version of the bill with a 115-39 vote, but the bill did not pass in the Senate before the end of the term.  

Rep. Bert Atkins for Missouri's 75th district said he voted against the bill because there is no proof that TANF recipients are more likely to use drugs than other segments of the population.

"I haven't been shown where drug usage by TANF recipients is such an issue," Atkins said. "To single out a particular group I didn't think was right."

Terry Jones, professor of political science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said the bill violates citizens' rights and would be expensive for the state to enact.

"It's very constitutionally suspect," Jones said. "Testing somebody for drugs is in effect, search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. You have probable cause to have somebody to submit to a drug test simply as a condition for them receiving money from the federal government."

Jones said another drawback would be the millions of dollars it would cost the state to drug test TANF recipients.

Wyatt said the money the state would save by cutting off assistance to those who test positive for illegal substances would outweigh the cost of the drug tests.

"A urine drug test, if it's in bulk, it's usually pennies on the dollar," he said.  

Wyatt also defended the constitutionality of the bill.  

"I truly don't believe that it's unconstitutional because when it comes down to it, they're getting government money and there needs to be more oversight, and if they're getting money from the government they need to be accountable to it as well," Wyatt said.

Still, Wyatt said the bill would probably be challenged in court if it passes in the House and the Senate.

"If the judicial system does find it unconstitutional, we will have to relook at the problem when it comes," he said.     

Jones said it would be challenged in court, and that when Michigan passed something similar, it was ruled unconstitutional in court.

"If you have an understanding that it's going to be thrown out by the courts or its going to be passed by the other House with in the legislature, it's a way for you to say to you constituents, I'm willing to crack down on those welfare recipients and not have to have any real consequences in terms of increased appropriations," Jones said.

Wyatt said he does not think the Department of Social Services is currently doing enough to make sure its clients do not spend cash assistance on illegal drugs.  

Scott Rowson, media correspondent for the Missouri Department of Social Services, said there currently are eligibility restrictions on people with prior drug convictions receiving TANF, but that drug testing is not a part of the application process.

Rowson said he was not familiar with the specifics of the bill in question, but if it becomes law the Department of Social Services would comply with the new regulations.

"We work for the governor and for the public, so whatever the public's representatives pass in the form of laws, we'll find a way to make that happen, that's our goal," Rowan said. "We just put into practice what the legislature passes."

Wyatt defeated incumbent democrat Rebecca McClannahan in the November 2010 elections and represents Adair, Putnam, part of Sullivan counties. During his campaign, Wyatt ran on a platform of decreased government spending on Missouri's social service programs.  

As an elected representative, Wyatt said he has been talking with other legislators about introducing bills in the future to reduce long-term dependence on social services and abuse of government assistance.

"There needs to be a map-out," Wyatt said. "Once you begin getting government assistance it shouldn't be a forever thing. It should be a planned-out type thing where you would be able to say, ‘Alright, in a year I'm going to I have to be off assistance.'"

The vote on the bill is not yet scheduled.