Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3678 To require certain welfare programs to deny benefits to persons who fail a drug test, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 1, 2021 Mr. ROUZER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Agri- culture, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require certain welfare programs to deny benefits to persons who fail a drug test, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drug Testing for Wel- 4 fare Recipients Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3678 IH SEC. 2. DRUG SCREENING AND TESTING UNDER STATE 1 PROGRAMS FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE 2 FOR NEEDY FAMILIES. 3 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 408(a) of the Social Se- 4 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at 5 the end the following: 6 ‘‘(13) NO ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO 7 FAIL DRUG SCREENING OR TESTING OR ARE NOT 8 SCREENED OR TESTED FOR DRUG USE.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 10 grant is made under section 403 shall not use 11 any part of the grant to provide assistance for 12 an individual who has attained 18 years of age, 13 unless, before receipt of the assistance— 14 ‘‘(i) the State makes a determination, 15 in a manner the State considers appro- 16 priate, of whether the individual has or has 17 not been arrested for a drug-related of- 18 fense during the 5-year period immediately 19 preceding the date on which the determina- 20 tion is made; 21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 22 is determined by the State to have been ar- 23 rested for a drug-related offense during the 24 5-year period provided in clause (i), the in- 25 dividual tests negative for not less than 1 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3678 IH controlled substance, as specified by the 1 State, in such manner and at such times 2 as the State determines to be appropriate; 3 and 4 ‘‘(iii) in the case of an individual who 5 is determined by the State not to have 6 been arrested for a drug-related offense 7 during the 5-year period provided in clause 8 (i), the individual— 9 ‘‘(I) completes substance abuse 10 screening in such manner and at such 11 times as the State considers appro- 12 priate; and 13 ‘‘(II)(aa) is determined pursuant 14 to such screening not to have a high 15 risk of abuse of a controlled sub- 16 stance; or 17 ‘‘(bb) is determined pursuant to 18 such screening to have a high risk of 19 abuse of a controlled substance and 20 tests negative for not less than 1 con- 21 trolled substance, as specified by the 22 State, in such manner and at such 23 times as the State determines to be 24 appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3678 IH ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF FAILING DRUG TEST.—In 1 the case of an individual who tests positive for 2 a controlled substance pursuant to subpara- 3 graph (A)(ii) or (A)(iii)(II)(bb), a State shall 4 not provide assistance under the State program 5 funded under this part for the individual for a 6 period beginning on the date on which the State 7 determines that the test result is positive and 8 ending on the latest of— 9 ‘‘(i) the date that is 12 months after 10 the date on which the State determines 11 that the test result is positive; 12 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the individual 13 successfully completes a treatment pro- 14 gram for each controlled substance for 15 which the individual tested positive; or 16 ‘‘(iii) the date on which the individual 17 tests negative for each such controlled sub- 18 stance, in such manner and at such times 19 as the State determines to be appropriate. 20 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITY FOR TESTING AND 21 SCREENING.— 22 ‘‘(i) MANNER AND TIME.—A State 23 may provide for testing and screening pur- 24 suant to paragraph (1), and retesting and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3678 IH rescreening pursuant to paragraph (2), in 1 such manner and at such times as the 2 State agency considers appropriate. 3 ‘‘(ii) COSTS.—A State may not re- 4 quire an individual to pay the cost of test- 5 ing or screening conducted pursuant to 6 this paragraph. 7 ‘‘(D) NO EFFECT ON ASSISTANCE FOR 8 OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS.—The amount of as- 9 sistance payable for a family member of an in- 10 dividual for whom assistance is denied pursuant 11 to this paragraph shall not be affected by the 12 denial. 13 ‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 14 ‘‘(i) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The 15 term ‘controlled substance’ means, with re- 16 spect to an individual, any controlled sub- 17 stance as defined in section 102 of the 18 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) 19 that is not used by such individual pursu- 20 ant to a valid prescription or as otherwise 21 authorized by law. 22 ‘‘(ii) DRUG-RELATED OFFENSE.—The 23 term ‘drug-related offense’ means any 24 criminal offense under State or Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3678 IH law relating to the manufacture, sale, dis- 1 tribution, use, or possession with intent to 2 manufacture, sell, distribute, or use, of a 3 controlled substance. 4 ‘‘(iii) SUBSTANCE ABUSE SCREEN- 5 ING.—The term ‘substance abuse screen- 6 ing’ means an interview, questionnaire, or 7 other screening instrument approved by 8 the State, that is designed to be used to 9 determine whether an individual has a high 10 risk of abuse of a controlled substance.’’. 11 (b) PENALTY.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 409(a) of such Act 13 (42 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end 14 the following: 15 ‘‘(17) FAILURE TO CONDITION RECEIPT OF 16 BENEFITS ON PASSING DRUG TESTING OR SCREEN- 17 ING.—If the Secretary determines that a State to 18 which a grant is made under section 403 for a fiscal 19 year has substantially failed to comply with section 20 408(a)(13) during the fiscal year, the Secretary 21 shall reduce the grant payable to the State under 22 section 403 for the immediately succeeding fiscal 23 year by an amount equal to 15 percent of the State 24 family assistance grant.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3678 IH (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF GOOD CAUSE EXCEP- 1 TION.—Section 409(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2 609(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘or (13)’’ and in- 3 serting ‘‘(13), or (17)’’. 4 (3) INAPPLICABILITY OF CORRECTIVE COMPLI- 5 ANCE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 409(c)(4) of 6 such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(c)) is amended by striking 7 ‘‘or (16)’’ and inserting ‘‘(16), or (17)’’. 8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 9 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 10 calendar month that begins after the 240-day period that 11 begins with the date of the enactment of this Act. 12 SEC. 3. DRUG SCREENING AND TESTING UNDER THE SUP- 13 PLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PRO- 14 GRAM. 15 (a) DRUG TESTING AND SCREENING REQUIRED FOR 16 ELIGIBILITY.—Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act 17 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended by adding at end 18 the following: 19 ‘‘(t) ELIGIBILITY BASED ON REQUIRED DRUG TEST- 20 ING AND SCREENING.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who has at- 22 tained 18 years of age and who is otherwise eligible 23 to participate in the supplemental nutrition assist- 24 ance program as a member of a household shall be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3678 IH eligible to participate in such program only if before 1 such assistance is provided with respect to such indi- 2 vidual— 3 ‘‘(A) the State determines, in a manner 4 the State considers appropriate, whether such 5 individual has or has not been arrested for a 6 drug-related offense during the 5-year period 7 ending on the date on which the determination 8 is made; 9 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who is de- 10 termined by the State to have been arrested for 11 a drug-related offense during such 5-year pe- 12 riod, such individual tests negative for not less 13 than 1 controlled substance, as specified by the 14 State, in such manner and at such times as the 15 State considers appropriate; and 16 ‘‘(C) in the case of an individual who is de- 17 termined by the State not to have been arrested 18 for a drug-related offense during such 5-year 19 period, such individual— 20 ‘‘(i) completes substance abuse screen- 21 ing, in such manner and at such times as 22 the State considers appropriate; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3678 IH ‘‘(ii)(I) is determined pursuant to 1 such screening not to have a high risk of 2 abuse of a controlled substance; or 3 ‘‘(II) is determined pursuant to such 4 screening to have a high risk of abuse of 5 a controlled substance and tests negative 6 for not less than 1 controlled substance, as 7 specified by the State, in such manner and 8 at such times as the State considers appro- 9 priate. 10 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF A POSITIVE DRUG TEST RE- 11 SULT.—If an individual tests positive for a con- 12 trolled substance pursuant to paragraph (1), such 13 assistance may not be provided with respect to such 14 individual for a period beginning on the date on 15 which the State agency determines that the test re- 16 sult is positive and ending on the latest of— 17 ‘‘(A) the date that is 1 year after the date 18 on which the State agency determines that the 19 test result is positive; 20 ‘‘(B) the date on which such individual 21 successfully completes a treatment program for 22 each controlled substance for which the indi- 23 vidual tested positive pursuant to paragraph 24 (1); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3678 IH ‘‘(C) the date by which the test result for 1 such individual is not positive for each con- 2 trolled substance for which the individual tested 3 positive pursuant to paragraph (1). 4 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITY FOR TESTING AND 5 SCREENING.— 6 ‘‘(A) The State agency may provide for 7 testing and screening pursuant to paragraph 8 (1), and retesting and rescreening pursuant to 9 paragraph (2), in such manner and at such 10 times as the State agency considers appro- 11 priate. 12 ‘‘(B) The State agency may not require an 13 individual or a household to pay the cost of a 14 test or screening conducted pursuant to this 15 subsection. 16 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub- 17 section: 18 ‘‘(A) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The 19 term ‘controlled substance’ means a controlled 20 substance as defined in section 102 of the Con- 21 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) that is 22 not used by the tested individual pursuant to a 23 valid prescription or as otherwise authorized by 24 law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3678 IH ‘‘(B) DRUG-RELATED OFFENSE.—The 1 term ‘drug-related offense’ means any criminal 2 offense under State or Federal law relating to 3 the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or pos- 4 session with intent to manufacture, sell, dis- 5 tribute, or use, of a controlled substance. 6 ‘‘(C) SUBSTANCE ABUSE SCREENING.— 7 The term ‘substance abuse screening’ means an 8 interview, questionnaire, or other screening in- 9 strument approved by the State, that is de- 10 signed to be used to determine whether an indi- 11 vidual has a high risk of abuse of a controlled 12 substance.’’. 13 (b) REDUCTION OF REIMBURSEMENT FOR ADMINIS- 14 TRATIVE COSTS.—Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition 15 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended— 16 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘subsection 17 (k)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (k) and (l)’’, and 18 (2) by adding at end the following: 19 ‘‘(l) FAILURE TO ENFORCE DRUG TESTING AND 20 SCREENING REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary deter- 21 mines that the State agency failed substantially to enforce 22 the eligibility requirement established in section 6(t) in a 23 fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce by 15 percent the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3678 IH amount otherwise payable under subsection (a) to such 1 State agency for the immediately succeeding fiscal year.’’. 2 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 3 this section shall take effect 240 days after the date of 4 the enactment of this Act. 5 SEC. 4. DRUG SCREENING AND TESTING UNDER PUBLIC 6 HOUSING AND SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSIST- 7 ANCE PROGRAMS. 8 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 214 of the Housing and 9 Community Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a) 10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR IN- 12 DIVIDUALS WHO FAIL DRUG SCREENING OR TESTING OR 13 ARE NOT SCREENED OR TESTED.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 15 provision of law, the applicable administrative entity 16 may not make covered housing assistance available 17 for the benefit of any individual who has attained 18 18 years of age, unless, before such assistance is pro- 19 vided with respect to such individual— 20 ‘‘(A) the applicable administrative entity 21 makes a determination, in a manner the entity 22 considers appropriate, of whether the individual 23 has or has not been arrested for a drug-related 24 offense during the 5-year period immediately 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:15 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3678.IH H3678 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3678 IH preceding the date on which the determination 1 is made; 2 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who is de- 3 termined by the applicable administrative enti [Text truncated for display. 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