# Plain Language Summary: Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Act

This bill would require drug testing for people receiving government assistance and would deny or suspend benefits to anyone who fails a drug test. The bill applies to three major assistance programs: temporary cash welfare (TANF), food stamps (SNAP), and public housing assistance.

Here's how it would work in practice. If you're 18 or older and apply for any of these benefits, the government would first check whether you've been arrested for a drug-related offense in the past five years. If you have been arrested for drug crimes, you'd have to pass a drug test before getting any assistance. If you haven't been arrested, you'd have to complete a substance abuse screening (basically a questionnaire or interview). If that screening shows you're at high risk for drug abuse, you'd then have to pass a drug test. The government would pay for all testing—you wouldn't have to cover the cost yourself.

If you test positive for drugs, you'd lose your benefits for at least 12 months, or until you complete a drug treatment program and test negative again, whichever takes longer. The bill does include one protection: if you're part of a family receiving assistance, other family members' benefits wouldn't be reduced just because you failed a test. However, if you're the only one who passed the screening, the family's total assistance would be reduced to reflect only your eligibility.

States and housing agencies that don't enforce these testing requirements would face penalties—they'd lose 15 percent of their federal funding for these programs. This means states would need to set up testing systems and track compliance, which would require spending money on administration and testing itself.

Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Act

Rouzer, David

Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Act This bill requires the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)&nbsp;program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and specified public housing programs&nbsp;to subject&nbsp;individuals to substance-abuse screening and to deny benefits for individuals who test positive for a controlled substance.