Nov-L: CNN: Florida governor defends measure requiring drug tests for welfare (video) (fwd)

[lodewijk andré de la porte]

Although obnoxious this law is in line with the anti-drug direction of the
American government.

The more I think about it the stranger it is to be discriminated and drug
tested based on the fact that you're in the welfare program. Although
there's something profoundly justified about making sure
people receiving money are going to do the best thing possible with it,
considering drugs are mostly illegal in the US.

--Lewis

2011/6/6 J.A. Terranson <measl at mfn.org>

> As long as we're "off topic* <smirk>
>
>
> //Alif
>
> --
> I hate Missouri.  Land of the free, home of the perjuriously deranged.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 10:37:42 -0700
> From: Nora Callahan <nora at november.org>
> To: november-l at november.org
> Subject: Nov-L: CNN: Florida governor defends measure requiring drug tests
> for
>    welfare (video)
>
> Hello Friends:
>
> A nasty law unfolding in Florida -- note that the Governor is selling
> family interest in a company that has long-profited on drug testing. Please
> share with your friends.
>
> Nora
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Florida governor defends measure requiring drug tests for welfare
>
> By the CNN Wire Staff
>
> June 5, 2011 5:58 p.m. EDT
>
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/05/florida.welfare.drug.testing/index.html
>
> Watch story video (3:09) -
>
> http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/06/05/exp.nr.fl.gov.welfare.drug.tests.cnn
>
> (CNN) -- Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday defended recent legislation that
> requires adults applying for welfare assistance to undergo drug screenings,
> saying the law provides "personal accountability."
>
> "It's not right for taxpayer money to be paying for somebody's drug
> addiction," Scott told CNN's T.J. Holmes on Sunday. "On top of that, this
> is
> going to increase personal responsibility, personal accountability. We
> shouldn't be subsidizing people's addiction."
>
> But the ACLU of Florida, which has already filed suit against Scott over a
> measure requiring government employees to undergo random drug testing,
> disagrees, and may sue over the welfare law as well.
>
> "What (Scott) is doing is giving ugly legitimacy to an unfortunate
> stereotype that has been in this country for a couple of decades -- that
> all
> welfare recipients are a bunch of drug abusers," said Howard Simon,
> executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
>
> Scott told CNN he wants to ensure that welfare funds go to their primary
> target -- to disadvantaged children -- and provide people with an incentive
> not to use drugs. He signed the measure on June 1, calling it "the right
> thing for taxpayers."
>
> Under the law, which takes effect on July 1, the Florida Department of
> Children and Family Services will be required to conduct the drug tests on
> adults applying to the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
> program. The aid recipients would be responsible for the cost of the
> screening, which they would recoup in their assistance if they qualify.
>
> Those who fail the required drug testing may designate another individual
> to
> receive the benefits on behalf of their children, and do not receive a
> refund for the test.
>
> Shortly after the bill was signed, five Democrats from the state's
> congressional delegation issued a joint statement attacking the
> legislation,
> one calling it "downright unconstitutional."
>
> "Governor Scott's new drug testing law is not only an affront to families
> in
> need and detrimental to our nation's ongoing economic recovery, it is
> downright unconstitutional," said Rep. Alcee Hastings. "If Governor Scott
> wants to drug test recipients of TANF benefits, where does he draw the
> line?
> Are families receiving Medicaid, state emergency relief, or educational
> grants and loans next?"
>
> "I work for the ACLU, and it's our job to prevent trampling on the
> constitutional rights of people," Simon said. The Constitution mandates
> that
> searches cannot be conducted without probable cause, he said.
>
> Controversy over the measure was heightened by Scott's past association
> with
> a company he co-founded that operates walk-in urgent care clinics in
> Florida
> and counts drug screening among the services it provides. In April, Scott,
> who had transferred his ownership interest in Solantic Corp. to a trust in
> his wife's name, said the company would not contract for state business,
> according to local media reports.
>
> Asked about the company Sunday, Scott said he is in the process of selling
> his family's interest in the company and "it will be sold in a couple of
> weeks." There is no conflict of interest, he said.
>
> On May 18, the Florida Ethics Commission ruled that two
> conflict-of-interest
> complaints against Scott were legally insufficient to warrant
> investigation,
> and adopted an opinion that no "prohibited conflict of interest" existed.
>
> On the measure requiring public employees to undergo drug testing, Simon
> noted that public employees -- workers in city, county, state and federal
> government -- are protected by the Constitution and should not undergo
> "intrusive" drug testing without probable cause to believe a person is
> using
> drugs.
>
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/05/florida.welfare.drug.testing/index.html--------
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