Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Texas taxpayers will not subsidize or tolerate illegal drug abuse. Every dollar that goes to someone who uses it inappropriately is a dollar that cant go to a Texan who needs it for housing child care or medicine" said. Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst
earlier today jointly calling on the Texas Legislature to enact
reforms to the states welfare and unemployment benefit programs.
Those programs would include authorizing drug screenings for those applying for:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) which provides temporary cash assistance to needy families with children as families pursue financial independence and
- Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits paid to eligible individuals from taxes paid by employers.
State Sen. Jane Nelson has pre-filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session to require drug screening for TANF applicants.
Being on drugs makes it much harder to begin the journey to independence which only assures
individuals remain stuck in the terrible cycle of drug abuse and poverty" said Perry.
We owe it to Texas taxpayers to structure our welfare and unemployment programs in a way that guarantees recipients are serious about getting back to work" said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Its beneficial to welfare recipients for us to reform and strengthen our job training requirements and require them to be drug-free so that we can help them get back on their feet and back to work" Dewhurst said.
The governor noted that the purpose of TANF and UI is to provide temporary assistance to individuals and families not a permanent replacement for employment. Drug testing ensures individuals are using these benefits for their intended purpose and that individuals are ready and available for employment by remaining drug free.
I appreciate Gov. Perrys support as we work to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly in our welfare system" Sen. Nelson said.
We must ensure that recipients of these public funds are drug-free and in keeping with the mission of
this program on a path to self-sufficiency."
The system insures employees against loss of wages when they lose their job through no fault of their own providing financial assistance for a fixed period of time while the individual seeks new employment.
