Davis / 4 Senator Moorhouse

S.B._____

A BILL
To mandate states to drug test SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) beneficiaries.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Moorhouse Act of 2016.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) Drug testing recipients of SNAP will save money by denying drug addicts SNAP benefits.
2) If recipients of SNAP benefits are able to feed their drug habits, they should be able to feed themselves.
3) Giving benefits of SNAP to drug addicts helps them harbor their addictions.
4) Drug testing recipients of SNAP benefits helps the US fight the war on drugs.
5) Drug tests give addicts an incentive to find help, and get rid of their addiction.
6) Poverty stricken families and individuals struggle with drug addiction far worse than individuals and families in
most other groups.
7) Drug testing for welfare programs has already proven to save a lot of money in the past. One of the most
prominent examples of this is in Utah.
8) Drug testing recipients of SNAP is constitutional if done correctly. When there is reasonable suspicion of drug use
drug tests are completely legal.
9) The US spends $50 billion per year trying to eradicate drugs from this country.
10) DEA estimates we capture less than 10 percent of all illicit drugs
11) Currently in the US, about one of every ten Americans is struggling with drug addiction.
12) Data from the 2002 NSDUH show that about 22 percent of female welfare recipients used illicit drugs at least
once in the year before the survey
13) SNAP costs the government over 73 billion dollars in taxpayer money yearly.
14) There are 45.7 million SNAP members in 2016
15) Food stamps cost about $1,600 per year per person.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Moorhouse Act of 2016 shall enforce mandatory drug tests on SNAP beneficiaries. Beneficiaries shall pay
for their own drug test, and they will be reimbursed if they test negative. Saliva tests cost less than $5.00 per person,
and will be used to test for drug use in days prior to receiving benefits. Since random screenings were deemed
unconstitutional in as case in Florida, random drug testing is not an option. When there is reasonable suspicion of
drug use however, drug tests are completely legal. Ergo, a questionnaire to determine if there is suspicion of drug use
will be used to ensure this law does not violate the constitution.
B) The Department of Health and Human Services will work with state governments to ensure that no recipient of
SNAP benefits is addicted to any type of narcotic, through mandated drug tests for all beneficiaries. In the case of a
positive test, the recipient will have the choice to pay for a reexamination. In the case of a false positive, the recipient
will be reimbursed for both tests. With 45.7 million SNAP beneficiaries in the fiscal year of 2015, and each
beneficiary receiving on average over $1,600 in benefits over the year, SNAP costs the government over 73 billion
dollars in taxpayer money. Thanks to the nature of this bill, it should require little to no cuts. Assuming .312% of
users test positive, this will save enough money to balance out the required funds for drug testing units. With added
costs of maintenance and reading these drug tests, however, $200,000,000 shall be taken from EPA to ensure all costs
are covered.
C) Since SNAP is a state and federally funded program, states that are not willing to comply with mandated drug
tests will also relinquish federal funding for their SNAP programs. The Moorhouse Act of 2016 shall be enacted on
December 30th, 2016. This act shall be reviewed every two years, in order to stay up to date with current drug testing
technology, and ensure that it is working fiscally.