Walker today lauded GOP U.S. House members for scheduling a vote to undo a rule restricting states’ ability to drug test unemployment insurance claimants.
“Over and over again, employers are telling us of their dramatic needs for people who are ready to work and able to pass a drug test,” Walker said. “This scheduled vote by the House of Representatives is an important first step to advancing bold welfare reform in Wisconsin and across our nation.”
Walker’s statement comes after Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced the House would use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Obama administration rule.
While federal law currently doesn’t require states to drug test unemployment insurance applicants, states are allowed to do so with some limits. The state’s Department of Workforce Development is currently working on rules to establish a drug screening and testing program for some applicants.
In a letter in support of today’s vote, Walker and three other governors called for “increased flexibility” for states to drug test unemployment insurance applicants in a way that “best fits the needs of each state.”
Walker wrote a letter to the Trump administration in December, in which he asked the president for the green light to implement his program to drug screen and test food stamp recipients. The feds have yet to approve the state’s waiver request for the program.
The guv’s statement today also mentioned his recently unveiled state welfare reform program, which includes strengthening drug screening, testing and treatment for new W-2 participants.
“A central component of our ‘Wisconsin Works for Everyone’ welfare reform package is to further incorporate drug testing for those on public assistance,” he said. “If someone fails the test, we help them with rehabilitation, so they can get healthy and ready to enter the workforce.”
