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Should People Seeking Government Assistance Be Required to Take Drug Tests?

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Should people seeking government assistance be required to take drug tests?
INTRODUCTION
On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, also known as the Welfare Reform Bill, into effect ending welfare as it had been known for many years. “This law transformed the traditional entitlement to cash welfare under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) into a transitional program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which requires most recipients to work after two years of receiving assistance, or, at state option, even earlier, with few exceptions. After 60 months of receipt during a lifetime, a recipient is ineligible for federally-funded cash benefits (NPC, 2004)”. (1) The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act shifted the responsibility of the poor to the states. The Act also made allowance for states to perform drug testing of those who were in need of federal assistance.

According to an article in the New York Times “Policy makers in three dozen states this year proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits like welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing (Sulzberger, 2011) .” The controversy rising from the proposed drug testing has many debating the question: Should people seeking government assistance be required to take drug tests?
PROs/CONs:
There are several pros and cons to the new legislature to drug test those seeking government assistance.
PROS:
Those in favor of the bills feel that it is reasonable to drug test those who receive money from the government because most employers require a drug test before hiring an employee. Why should tax dollars pay for people who use illegal drugs? (Montaldo, 2012)
Others in favor of the bills believe it is an act of compassion and a way to help people addicted to drugs.

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