The Right Recipient
February 17, 2017
 
In 2012, then President Obama signed into law the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. While this legislation prevented a scheduled tax increase on millions of middle class families, it also rightfully authorized states across the country to begin drug testing applicants for Unemployment Insurance benefits. Simply put, prioritizing help to those who are doing everything they can to get back to work and to get off of government assistance is not only a right, but a responsibility of your government in its obligation to be good stewards of valuable taxpayer resources. This important section of the law was authored by the Republican controlled House of Representatives, then signed by President Obama, and it overturned an earlier regulation that banned states from drug testing applicants for unemployment assistance.
 
Unfortunately, soon after this new law hit the books – the same Obama White House that signed it started working behind the scenes, around Congress and behind the backs of the American people to circumvent it. They wrote rules and regulations out of the Department of Labor narrowly defining how, when, where and under what circumstances states may actually test for drug usage among applicants - all but nullifying the law a bipartisan Congress had passed and President Obama had himself signed. So when states like Wisconsin, Texas and others passed laws requiring the testing of Unemployment Insurance recipients for drug usage – they were unable to enforce them due to delays, obstructions and regulations from the Obama instructed Department of Labor.
 
It is your hard earned tax dollars that are used to fund government and all its programs – as such your government has a fiduciary responsibility to you that it will be good stewards of those resources. Unfortunately we have a federal government that has grown too big, taxes too high and spends too much of your tax dollars on government programs stricken with widespread fraud and abuse. It is one of the reasons I will continue to advocate for a government that takes less and allows the American people to keep more.  As such I have long advocated for things like drug testing and work or job training requirements for those seeking welfare support or unemployment assistance. In 2011, I helped co-author and support Missouri State House Bill 73 which required Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients be tested for illegal drug use. That bill garnered support from both Democrats and Republicans because making sure taxpayer resources aren’t used to support individuals who are using those same dollars on illicit and illegal drugs just makes sense.
 
This week, with my support the House of Representatives passed a resolution to overturn the regulations used by the Obama White House which were preventing states from testing Unemployment Insurance recipients for drug usage. Our actions this week were to roll back and undo President Obama’s unfaithful execution of that 2012 law and to give states like Missouri the right to make sure hard working taxpayer dollars only go to deserving citizens. These are the type of common sense policies which make sense for thousands of private sector employers handing out a weekly paycheck and should as well for your federal government. Too many politicians and bureaucrats forget that it is their responsibility to protect and defend valuable taxpayer resources. As I continue to look for ways to cut the size and scope of your government while reducing fraud and waste, I am glad that I am joined by a President in the White House who shares the same vision of stamping out the abuse rampant throughout all levels of government.