Two days after President Obama requested $1.1 billion to combat heroin and prescription drug abuse, a senior House appropriator suggested USDA should allow drug testing of food stamp recipients. In a case yet to be decided, Wisconsin sued USDA last year so it can start a testing program backed by Gov. Scott Walker, who made the tests a central theme in his re-election campaign. The government says states cannot add extra requirements for food stamps. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said testing would be unfair and unproductive.
“This is a situation of equity,” Vilsack responded to Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt, whose House Appropriations subcommittee oversees the USDA budget. “We’re not sure what the problem is we’re trying to solve here.” Aderholt said “it would be helpful if drug users would be identified” so they could be brought into treatment programs.
The Republican-controlled House approved drug tests for food stamps in 2013 but the idea eventually was dropped. Critics said the tests would be costly, stigmatize applicants and discourage participation in the program. Thirteen states require drug tests as part of welfare programs, says the Center for Law and Social Policy. “Very few applicants have tested positive for drug use in states that have implemented these policies.”
When Aderholt asked if food stamps were a form of welfare, Vilsack said, “We don’t see it that way.” Nutrition assistance is “not the same as cash welfare,” said Vilsack. It would be wiser to put more money into drug treatment programs than random drug testing, he said.
Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican, backed up Aderholt on testing. “I would hope we look for a way to identity the individual in the community who chooses not to seek help,” he said. States could require people to get treatment for drug use.
Stacy Dean of the think tank Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said drug testing was a frequent proposal but often without details on what to do with the results. “Giving states the ability to restrict food assistance is a big deal,” said Dean.
Aderholt is sponsor of legislation to allow food-stamp drug testing, said Associated Press. The bill would make it harder for participants in a federal heating assistance program to automatically qualify for food stamps. Half of the savings would be given to states for drug treatment programs, said AP.
The Wisconsin testing plan is aimed at able-bodied adults without dependents, said the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Applicants who failed the test “would get drug treatment, which would be covered by the state if they didn’t have another way to pay for it.”
In 2013, the Wonkblog of the Washington Post said, “On every measure we examine, SNAP (food stamp) recipients are only slightly more likely than non-recipients to display substance use disorders. Yet the absolute risks associated with SNAP receipt are quite small.” Other groups of the population have higher rates of substance abuse, it said.
Two-thirds of food stamp recipients are children, elderly or disabled people. At latest count, 45.4 million people received benefits, which averaged $126 per person per month. Food stamp enrollment soared during the 2008-09 recession and has remained high, reflecting the slow economic recovery.
During debate leading to the 2014 farm law, Republican lawmakers argued the program was out of control and becoming unaffordable.
A video of the hearing is available here.