Last updated : December 16, 2024
It may be hard to believe that elected officials have not undergone the level of scrutiny that would make drug abuse apparent, but being a member of Congress doesn’t grant superpowers. The fact is no one is immune to drug abuse and addiction, but while Congress has spent the last few years pushing for drug testing of welfare recipients, a poll shows that the American public is largely in favor of drug testing representatives in Washington.
A YouGov/Huffington Post survey found that while Americans like the idea of random drug tests for welfare and food stamp recipients (51% strong approval) they are also overwhelmingly in favor of drug testing everyone in Congress. 78% of survey respondents said they were in favor with 62% strongly favoring the idea.
The idea has bipartisan support: 86% of Republicans, 77% of Democrats, and 75% of independents said they want members of Congress to undergo drug testing. Republicans were most in favor of drug tests for welfare recipients with 87% favoring it and 9% opposed. 50% of Democrats favored drug testing aid recipients while 64% of independents were in favor of it. If so many people in the public, why isn’t it part of a party platform? It’s because Congress makes rules for itself, of course, but they have gotten help from the courts.
Drug testing of private sector employees has become very common with more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies now requiring a drug screening of new hires. The right to screen applicants and employees has been protected by court rulings, but unlike private sector employees, candidates have additional protections under the Constitution. In 1997 in Chandler v Miller, the Supreme Court ruled against a Georgia statute requiring candidates pass a drug test before a run for office.
Most government agencies have their own drug testing guidelines, although most go by the Department of Transportation (DOT) or Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) procedures.
The survey also found that 66% of Americans believe that Congress members who are arrested and convicted of cocaine possession should be forced to resign compared with just 14% who felt they should be allowed to fulfill the rest of their term. Americans have been hearing lawmakers describe a “War on Drugs” while some may be secretly using the very drugs they lobby against.
In September 2013, Representative Trey Radel voted for Republican legislature to allow states to force food stamp recipients to take urine drug tests before receiving aid. The next month, he was arrested and charged with cocaine possession.
When Congress members and other high-ranking officials are found in possession of drugs, they usually face more lenient sentencing. Radel was charged with attempting to buy 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover police officer. Under federal law, he could have faced a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Instead, he was sentenced to probation. Rather than be removed by Congressional rule from his position as might happen if he tested positive in the private sector, he was permitted to resign.
A growing response to efforts to drug test federal aid recipients is suggesting that elected officials be tested likewise. The argument is that if the government wants to make sure federal employees and recipients of taxpayer-funded benefits are drug-free, legislators should be as well.
