Senator aims to force unemployed to take drug tests

[babsbunny]

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0616/senator-unemployed-face-mandatory-drug-tests/

By John Byrne
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 -- 10:01 am

Though the Clinton Administration passed a law years ago allowing states to test welfare recipients for drug abuse, one Republican senator wants to go farther: require drug tests of anyone who applies for government assistance.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) offered an amendment Tuesday that would require drug tests for those who seek welfare and unemployment benefits. States have the authority to enact drug testing requirements for their welfare programs under the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, but they are not mandated to conduct tests under current law.

[aquart]

1. I want to do tests on Orrin.

Tests that haven't been done since the 30s and 40s.

[DJ13]

3. Electricity and rectal probes?

Pay per view, I hope?

[nichomachus]

25. Orrin already had a rectal probe

and the aliens forgot to take it out -- that's the cause of most of his problems

[thatgemguy]

41. Not an alien Probe

It's his head!

[aquart]

26. Oh, that would be SO free market!

[eppur_se_muova]

47. .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=1667710&mesg_id=1667746

[Oregone]

2. Hm

I couldn't pass one with a job...sure as hell couldn't pass one unemployed.


What business is it of the governments what I do with all my unemployed free time?

[county worker]

5. It's none of their business. This is the right trying to define the unemployed the same way they

defined welfare recipients. Basically it is the movement toward not caring about people who are bad off.

I am convinced that the right and some on the left want to not have to care about the unemployed.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

4. Does he have friends connected to testing companies?

[Hubert Flottz]

13. Poppy Bush...

His hero.

[Blue Owl]

6. I wish like 100 people would surround Hatch, drop zipper,

and unleash an impromptu golden shower on that discriminating jerk.

Drench him in tepid urine and take lots of "after" pics.

[Dawson Leery]

7. Unemployment is an earned benefit!

Damn Bast**d!
It is an EARNED BENEFIT! THE WORKER HAS EARNED IT, YOU GOD D**M MORMON!

[closeupready]

10. Not only that, but wage earners pay premiums for the program.

It's a mandatory payroll tax.

[laughingliberal]

19. Yep. Would be like drug testing those who are drawing their SS benefits . eom

[justabob]

22. don't give them any ideas nt

[closeupready]

8. Sure, so they can send even more people to jail and work for free.

Scumbags. :mad:

[Greyskye]

9. Has he said how he plans to pay for these expensive tests?

Idiot.

[asdjrocky]

11. Unemployed and not smoking pot?

What in the hell is wrong with you? Seriously, I wonder if half of Congress would pass a drug test.

[ProgressiveVictory]

12. Im fine with that. sounds like a good idea.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[smoogatz]

23. Why does it sound like a good idea?

Do tell.

[ProgressiveVictory]

28. because I don't want to pay for someone's illegal habits.

If you have a job and want to buy illegal drugs, have fun i don't care.

But when you are getting unemployment from the government, which is taxpayer money, I don't wanna pay for your illegal and expensive habits.

[smoogatz]

30. Workers and employers pay into the unemployment fund.

It's an earned benefit. Under your logic, all public employees should be drug-tested. Is that fair?

[ProgressiveVictory]

33. I would say yes.

but life isnt fair.

As my international law teacher (who is a laywer and argued a case if front of the Supreme Court) told me, try to use the "fair" argument in the court of law. It will never work.

[smoogatz]

36. So, researchers who get federal grant money, museum employees and

musicians whose institutions are funded by the NEA, construction workers on tax-payer funded buildings, university secretaries, the guy who mows the courthouse lawn--you get to have a say over what they do when they're off the clock? How is that not a fascist impulse?

[ProgressiveVictory]

38. well they dont have to take gov money. but if they want to they should be clean

It happens with jobs all the time.

[smoogatz]

39. So, would you be willing to pee in a cup to get your tax refund?

It's a government check, after all--and it's money that's coming out of the government coffers. You don't HAVE to take your refund--and if you didn't take your refund, my taxes would go down.

The argument that those people don't have to take government money is specious. You don't have to benefit from taxpayer dollars, either, but you do. What you're arguing for is further government intrusion into the lives of working Americans. I would argue that, unless drug use in a worker's free time has a direct effect on public safety, mandatory drug testing ought to be illegal. But, you know, I'm in favor of getting both government (and employers) off people's backs.

[ProgressiveVictory]

40. i would.

Isnt my taxes that im getting back?

[smoogatz]

42. Same with unemployment.

You and your employer pay into the system, if you get laid off you get it back. Same thing.

I guess it's good to have obedient citizens like you around. I would view that kind of drug testing as an invasion of my privacy and a completely unnecessary intrusion into my personal life, where the government has absolutely no business sticking its nose.

[ProgressiveVictory]

46. i guess you are right. I guess then what i would like to see is a provision

that says there are only drug tests when you have an accident either on the job or while on unemployment like if you get hurt and have to go to the hospital.

[smoogatz]

49. There would be anyway, most likely,

if liability was an issue.

[laughingliberal]

51. Testing for on the job accidents is acceptable to me. Testing without cause is police state stuff.

There is no probable cause and I think it is a clear violation of the 4th amendment. Although, there is little left of the 4th amendment as it is, I still see it as worthy of fighting for.

[ProgressiveVictory]

54. Now that you talk about it, i can see your point and agree!

I would only like to see it for liability reasons, but only that!

[laughingliberal]

56. I'm glad to hear it. Rights relinquished are difficult to ever regain. nt

[laughingliberal]

44. I do not think someone drawing unemployment benefits is 'you' paying for them. nt

[laughingliberal]

43. Sorry, I DON'T stand with Orrin Hatch. Another invasion of the privacy of Americans. nt

[City Lights]

14. How much will that cost?

:eyes:

Let fucking Orrin Hatch pay for it!

[Hubert Flottz]

20. We only need to worry about cost when it's something that will

benefit working class, tax paying people. This is something the tax payers can pay for that will buy some political brownie points for Hatch and the GOP. The Reich wingers tried the same thing here in West Virginia and it failed.

[laughingliberal]

24. +1000 nt

[aquart]

27. Which of his donors or relatives owns national testing labs?

That's really all we need to find out.

[laughingliberal]

45. +1000 nt

[butterfly77]

15. He can be the first one in line..

[laughingliberal]

16. Welcome to the Police States of America. nt

[BurtWorm]

17. Nanny state Republicans.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

21. ludicrous

[Lance_Boyle]

29. I don't think it's a good idea, but

there is sort of a point to it - you have to be able to pass a drug test for most jobs. And you have to be applying for jobs to receive unemployment. So you probably ought to be able to piss clean. Should the feds mandate and fund (well, mandate that we taxpayers fund) the testing? No. A better solution might be to encourage employers hiring for non-life-or-death positions to give up their stupid-ass drug test hiring requirements.

[laughingliberal]

48. I don't agree with employers being able to do this either.

Why would we give more credibility to this? We continue to watch the erosion of our rights and thing which would have been a no starter 30 years ago, we now accept without question.

[closeupready]

57. I've never had to take a drug test for a job, and when it's been required, I refused.

n/t

[nykym]

31. I think we should mandate

drug testing for all congress-critters. I mean how can they stand there and spew the shit they spew and not be high on drugs! There are some exceptions though, not all are as loony as King, Bachmann, Bohener, or McConnell etc.

[Confusious]

37. I think mandatory psych evals would be good

If you're a crazy old loon, we retire you to the padded room.

Most of the repugs would have to go, a few dems too.

[Dr.Phool]

55. Drug AND alcohol tests daily for Congress.

With some of the stupid legislation coming out of those houses of ill repute, I think they're having PCP for breakfast.

[WeDidIt]

32. So in an age of fiscal responsibility, Hatch wants to spend millions, perhaps billions

on drug tests that for all but a minute number of applicants will come back negative?

How fucking moronic is that?

[laughingliberal]

53. No cost should be spared in our efforts to further erode the rights of the American people &...

further demonize those who are falling on hard times.

On edit, I would hope this is not needed but, these days...:sarcasm:

[KansDem]

34. "This amendment is a way to help people get off of drugs...

...to become productive and healthy members of society, while ensuring that valuable taxpayer dollars aren't wasted," Hatch said of his proposal. "Too many Americans are locked into a life of a dangerous dependency not only on drugs, but the federal assistance that serves to enable their addiction."

So if I lose my job due to the criminality of the Bush years, I'm on drugs?



Someone slip a condom over this prick!

[laughingliberal]

52. An excellent point. More efforts to obscure the truth of how the RW policies led us to this point.

It's not 30 years of Reaganism that created this economy. It's all the drug users. God, help us.

[Berry Cool]

58. Oh, puh-LEEZE!

Listen, Hatch you asshole. I am NOT on drugs. I have never even touched a freaking joint. I WAS a productive and healthy member of society, until I lost my job. I am not "locked into a life of a dangerous dependency," either on drugs or on "federal assistance." I want to work, you asshole. And if you think I lost my job due to drugs and I am not going to find one because I am addicted to drugs, and the only way you can get me to get another job is by making me piss in a cup to prove to you that I HAVE NEVER EVEN TAKEN ANY DRUGS IN MY LIFE, then maybe YOU are the one who should have to piss in a cup because YOU ARE ON DRUGS!

[Confusious]

35. Yea 'cause the unemployed gotta be taking drugs

If they don't have a job. got 'nothin to do with an economy he F'ed up, of course.

[Odin2005]

50. Total asshole!

[AsahinaKimi]

59. He should be first in line..

He is definitely on something. Then the rest of the Republicans, because they must be on crack.

[NNN0LHI]

60. I am starting to think the Rethugs don't want to win back Congress in November

Normally they would wait until after the election to start crazy stuff like this. Something is up. Probably is easier just to sit back as the minority and throw rocks at the Dems than actually having to come up with any of their own ideas.

Don