I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2179 

To require certain welfare programs to deny benefits to persons who fail 

a drug test, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2017 

Mr. ROUZER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drug Testing for Wel5 fare Recipients Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DRUG SCREENING AND TESTING UNDER STATE 

2 PROGRAMS FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE 

3 FOR NEEDY FAMILIES. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 408(a) of the Social Se5 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(13) NO ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO

8 FAIL DRUG SCREENING OR TESTING OR ARE NOT

9 SCREENED OR TESTED FOR DRUG USE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 

11 grant is made under section 403 shall not use 

12 any part of the grant to provide assistance for 

13 an individual who has attained 18 years of age, 

14 unless, before receipt of the assistance— 

15 ‘‘(i) the State makes a determination, 

16 in a manner the State considers appro17 priate, of whether the individual has or has 

18 not been arrested for a drug-related of19 fense during the 5-year period immediately 

20 preceding the date on which the determina21 tion is made; 

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 

23 is determined by the State to have been ar24 rested for a drug-related offense during the 

25 5-year period provided in clause (i), the in26 dividual tests negative for not less than 1 


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1 controlled substance, as specified by the 

2 State, in such manner and at such times 

3 as the State determines to be appropriate; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iii) in the case of an individual who 

6 is determined by the State not to have 

7 been arrested for a drug-related offense 

8 during the 5-year period provided in clause 

9 (i), the individual— 

10 ‘‘(I) completes substance abuse 

11 screening in such manner and at such 

12 times as the State considers appro13 priate; and 

14 ‘‘(II)(aa) is determined pursuant 

15 to such screening not to have a high 

16 risk of abuse of a controlled sub17 stance; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) is determined pursuant to 

19 such screening to have a high risk of 

20 abuse of a controlled substance and 

21 tests negative for not less than 1 con22 trolled substance, as specified by the 

23 State, in such manner and at such 

24 times as the State determines to be 

25 appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF FAILING DRUG TEST.—In 

2 the case of an individual who tests positive for 

3 a controlled substance pursuant to subpara4 graph (A)(ii) or (A)(iii)(II)(bb), a State shall 

5 not provide assistance under the State program 

6 funded under this part for the individual for a 

7 period beginning on the date on which the State 

8 determines that the test result is positive and 

9 ending on the latest of— 

10 ‘‘(i) the date that is 12 months after 

11 the date on which the State determines 

12 that the test result is positive; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the individual 

14 successfully completes a treatment pro15 gram for each controlled substance for 

16 which the individual tested positive; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) the date on which the individual 

18 tests negative for each such controlled sub19 stance, in such manner and at such times 

20 as the State determines to be appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITY FOR TESTING AND

22 SCREENING.— 

23 ‘‘(i) MANNER AND TIME.—A State 

24 may provide for testing and screening pur25 suant to paragraph (1), and retesting and 


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1 rescreening pursuant to paragraph (2), in 

2 such manner and at such times as the 

3 State agency considers appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(ii) COSTS.—A State may not re5 quire an individual to pay the cost of test6 ing or screening conducted pursuant to 

7 this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(D) NO EFFECT ON ASSISTANCE FOR

9 OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS.—The amount of as10 sistance payable for a family member of an in11 dividual for whom assistance is denied pursuant 

12 to this paragraph shall not be affected by the 

13 denial. 

14 ‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(i) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The 

16 term ‘controlled substance’ means, with re17 spect to an individual, any controlled sub18 stance as defined in section 102 of the 

19 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) 

20 that is not used by such individual pursu21 ant to a valid prescription or as otherwise 

22 authorized by law. 

23 ‘‘(ii) DRUG-RELATED OFFENSE.—The 

24 term ‘drug-related offense’ means any 

25 criminal offense under State or Federal 


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1 law relating to the manufacture, sale, dis2 tribution, use, or possession with intent to 

3 manufacture, sell, distribute, or use, of a 

4 controlled substance. 

5 ‘‘(iii) SUBSTANCE ABUSE SCREEN6 ING.—The term ‘substance abuse screen7 ing’ means an interview, questionnaire, or 

8 other screening instrument approved by 

9 the State, that is designed to be used to 

10 determine whether an individual has a high 

11 risk of abuse of a controlled substance.’’. 

12 (b) PENALTY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 409(a) of such Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(17) FAILURE TO CONDITION RECEIPT OF

17 BENEFITS ON PASSING DRUG TESTING OR SCREEN18 ING.—If the Secretary determines that a State to 

19 which a grant is made under section 403 for a fiscal 

20 year has substantially failed to comply with section 

21 408(a)(13) during the fiscal year, the Secretary 

22 shall reduce the grant payable to the State under 

23 section 403 for the immediately succeeding fiscal 

24 year by an amount equal to 15 percent of the State 

25 family assistance grant.’’. 


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1 (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF GOOD CAUSE EXCEP2 TION.—Section 409(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 609(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘or (13)’’ and in4 serting ‘‘(13), or (17)’’. 

5 (3) INAPPLICABILITY OF CORRECTIVE COMPLI6 ANCE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 409(c)(4) of 

7 such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(c)) is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘or (16)’’ and inserting ‘‘(16), or (17)’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

11 calendar month that begins after the 240-day period that 

12 begins with the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 3. DRUG SCREENING AND TESTING UNDER THE SUP14 PLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PRO15 GRAM. 

16 (a) DRUG TESTING AND SCREENING REQUIRED FOR

17 ELIGIBILITY.—Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act 

18 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended by adding at end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(t) ELIGIBILITY BASED ON REQUIRED DRUG TEST21 ING AND SCREENING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who has at23 tained 18 years of age and who is otherwise eligible 

24 to participate in the supplemental nutrition assist25 ance program as a member of a household shall be 


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1 eligible to participate in such program only if before 

2 such assistance is provided with respect to such indi3 vidual— 

4 ‘‘(A) the State determines, in a manner 

5 the State considers appropriate, whether such 

6 individual has or has not been arrested for a 

7 drug-related offense during the 5-year period 

8 ending on the date on which the determination 

9 is made; 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who is de11 termined by the State to have been arrested for 

12 a drug-related offense during such 5-year pe13 riod, such individual tests negative for not less 

14 than 1 controlled substance, as specified by the 

15 State, in such manner and at such times as the 

16 State considers appropriate; and 

17 ‘‘(C) in the case of an individual who is de18 termined by the State not to have been arrested 

19 for a drug-related offense during such 5-year 

20 period, such individual— 

21 ‘‘(i) completes substance abuse screen22 ing, in such manner and at such times as 

23 the State considers appropriate; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii)(I) is determined pursuant to 

2 such screening not to have a high risk of 

3 abuse of a controlled substance; or 

4 ‘‘(II) is determined pursuant to such 

5 screening to have a high risk of abuse of 

6 a controlled substance and tests negative 

7 for not less than 1 controlled substance, as 

8 specified by the State, in such manner and 

9 at such times as the State considers appro10 priate. 

11 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF A POSITIVE DRUG TEST RE12 SULT.—If an individual tests positive for a con13 trolled substance pursuant to paragraph (1), such 

14 assistance may not be provided with respect to such 

15 individual for a period beginning on the date on 

16 which the State agency determines that the test re17 sult is positive and ending on the latest of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the date that is 1 year after the date 

19 on which the State agency determines that the 

20 test result is positive; 

21 ‘‘(B) the date on which such individual 

22 successfully completes a treatment program for 

23 each controlled substance for which the indi24 vidual tested positive pursuant to paragraph 

25 (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the date by which the test result for 

2 such individual is not positive for each con3 trolled substance for which the individual tested 

4 positive pursuant to paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITY FOR TESTING AND

6 SCREENING.— 

7 ‘‘(A) The State agency may provide for 

8 testing and screening pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1), and retesting and rescreening pursuant to 

10 paragraph (2), in such manner and at such 

11 times as the State agency considers appro12 priate. 

13 ‘‘(B) The State agency may not require an 

14 individual or a household to pay the cost of a 

15 test or screening conducted pursuant to this 

16 subsection. 

17 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(A) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The 

20 term ‘controlled substance’ means a controlled 

21 substance as defined in section 102 of the Con22 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) that is 

23 not used by the tested individual pursuant to a 

24 valid prescription or as otherwise authorized by 

25 law. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DRUG-RELATED OFFENSE.—The 

2 term ‘drug-related offense’ means any criminal 

3 offense under State or Federal law relating to 

4 the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or pos5 session with intent to manufacture, sell, dis6 tribute, or use, of a controlled substance. 

7 ‘‘(C) SUBSTANCE ABUSE SCREENING.— 

8 The term ‘substance abuse screening’ means an 

9 interview, questionnaire, or other screening in10 strument approved by the State, that is de11 signed to be used to determine whether an indi12 vidual has a high risk of abuse of a controlled 

13 substance.’’. 

14 (b) REDUCTION OF REIMBURSEMENT FOR ADMINIS15 TRATIVE COSTS.—Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition 

16 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘subsection 

18 (k)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (k) and (l)’’, and 

19 (2) by adding at end the following: 

20 ‘‘(l) FAILURE TO ENFORCE DRUG TESTING AND

21 SCREENING REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary deter22 mines that the State agency failed substantially to enforce 

23 the eligibility requirement established in section 6(t) in a 

24 fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce by 15 percent the 


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1 amount otherwise payable under subsection (a) to such 

2 State agency for the immediately succeeding fiscal year.’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect 240 days after the date of 

5 the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 4. DRUG SCREENING AND TESTING UNDER PUBLIC 

7 HOUSING AND SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSIST8 ANCE PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 214 of the Housing and 

10 Community Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a) 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR IN13 DIVIDUALS WHO FAIL DRUG SCREENING OR TESTING OR

14 ARE NOT SCREENED OR TESTED.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law, the applicable administrative entity 

17 may not make covered housing assistance available 

18 for the benefit of any individual who has attained 18 

19 years of age, unless, before such assistance is pro20 vided with respect to such individual— 

21 ‘‘(A) the applicable administrative entity 

22 makes a determination, in a manner the entity 

23 considers appropriate, of whether the individual 

24 has or has not been arrested for a drug-related 

25 offense during the 5-year period immediately 


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1 preceding the date on which the determination 

2 is made; 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who is de4 termined by the applicable administrative entity 

5 to have been arrested for a drug-related offense 

6 during the 5-year period provided in subpara7 graph (A), the individual tests negative for each 

8 controlled substance that the entity has deter9 mined to be appropriate for testing; and 

10 ‘‘(C) in the case of an individual who is de11 termined by the applicable administrative entity 

12 not to have been arrested for a drug-related of13 fense during the 5-year period provided in 

14 clause (i), the individual— 

15 ‘‘(i) completes substance abuse screen16 ing in such manner and at such times as 

17 the entity considers appropriate; and 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) is determined pursuant to 

19 such screening not to have a high risk of 

20 abuse of a controlled substance; or 

21 ‘‘(II) is determined pursuant to such 

22 screening to have a high risk of abuse of 

23 a controlled substance and tests negative 

24 for each controlled substance that the entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Apr 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2179.IH H2179

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1 ty has determined to be appropriate for 

2 testing. 

3 The applicable administrative entity shall determine 

4 that not less than 1 controlled substance, as speci5 fied by the entity, is appropriate for testing for pur6 poses of this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF FAILING DRUG TEST.—If an 

8 individual tests positive for a controlled substance 

9 pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) or (1)(C)(ii)(II), cov10 ered housing assistance may not be provided with re11 spect to such individual for the period beginning on 

12 the date on which the applicable administrative enti13 ty determines that the test result is positive and 

14 ending on the latest of— 

15 ‘‘(A) the date that is 12 months after the 

16 date on which the applicable administrative en17 tity determines that the test result is positive; 

18 ‘‘(B) the date on which the individual suc19 cessfully completes a treatment program for 

20 each controlled substance for which the indi21 vidual tested positive; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the date on which the individual tests 

23 negative for each such controlled substance, in 

24 such manner and at such times as the applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Apr 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2179.IH H2179

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1 ble administrative entity determines to be ap2 propriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITY FOR TESTING AND

4 SCREENING.— 

5 ‘‘(A) MANNER AND TIME.—An applicable 

6 administrative entity may provide for testing 

7 and screening pursuant to paragraph (1), and 

8 retesting and rescreening pursuant to para9 graph (2), in such manner and at such times as 

10 the entity determines to be appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(B) COSTS.—An applicable administrative 

12 entity may not require an individual or family 

13 to pay the cost of a test or screening conducted 

14 pursuant to this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(4) PRORATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

16 If an individual for whose benefit covered housing 

17 assistance is prohibited pursuant to this subsection 

18 is a member of family that includes at least one 

19 other member whose eligibility under this subsection 

20 for such assistance has been affirmatively estab21 lished pursuant to testing under this subsection, cov22 ered housing assistance made available to such fam23 ily shall be prorated, based on the number of indi24 viduals in the family for whom eligibility under this 

25 subsection for such assistance has been affirmatively 


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1 established pursuant to testing under this subsection 

2 as compared with the total number of individuals 

3 who are members of the family. 

4 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO ENFORCE DRUG TESTING RE5 QUIREMENT.—If the Secretary of Housing and 

6 Urban Development determines that a public hous7 ing agency has substantially failed to comply with 

8 this subsection during a fiscal year, the Secretary 

9 shall reduce by 15 percent the amount otherwise 

10 provided to the agency, for the immediately suc11 ceeding fiscal year, under each of the following pro12 grams: 

13 ‘‘(A) The public housing Capital Fund pro14 gram under section 9(d) of the United States 

15 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d)). 

16 ‘‘(B) The public housing Operating Fund 

17 program under section 9(e) of the United 

18 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

19 1437g(e)). 

20 ‘‘(C) All programs for rental housing as21 sistance under section 8 of the United States 

22 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 

23 ‘‘(6) USE OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE AMOUNTS

24 FOR TESTING.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

25 of law, amounts made available under the following 


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1 provisions of law may be used for costs of testing in2 dividuals for controlled substances for purposes of 

3 compliance with this section, as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) Amounts made available under the 

5 public housing Operating Fund program under 

6 section 9(e) of the United States Housing Act 

7 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(e)) may be used for 

8 such testing for residents of, and applicants for 

9 residency in, public housing. 

10 ‘‘(B) Amounts made available to a public 

11 housing agency for administrative fees under 

12 section 8(q) of the United States Housing Act 

13 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)) may be used for 

14 such testing for individuals on behalf of whom 

15 rental assistance under such section is provided 

16 by the agency and applicants for such assist17 ance. 

18 ‘‘(C) Amounts made available for project19 based rental assistance under section 8 of the 

20 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

21 1437f) may be used for such testing for resi22 dents of, and applicants for residency in, dwell23 ing units in housing projects for which such as24 sistance is provided. 


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1 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub2 section, the following definitions shall apply: 

3 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE ADMINISTRATIVE ENTI4 TY.—The term ‘applicable administrative entity’ 

5 means— 

6 ‘‘(i) a public housing agency, with re7 spect to covered housing assistance admin8 istered by such agency; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary, with respect to 

10 project-based rental assistance under sec11 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

12 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 

13 ‘‘(B) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The 

14 term ‘controlled substance’ means, with respect 

15 to an individual, a controlled substance as de16 fined in section 102 of the Controlled Sub17 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) that is not used by 

18 such individual pursuant to a valid prescription 

19 or as otherwise authorized by law. 

20 ‘‘(C) COVERED HOUSING ASSISTANCE.— 

21 The term ‘covered housing assistance’ means fi22 nancial assistance made available pursuant to 

23 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

24 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(D) DRUG-RELATED OFFENSE.—The 

2 term ‘drug-related offense’ means any criminal 

3 offense under State or Federal law relating to 

4 the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or pos5 session with intent to manufacture, sell, dis6 tribute, or use, of a controlled substance. 

7 ‘‘(E) SUBSTANCE ABUSE SCREENING.— 

8 The term ‘substance abuse screening’ means an 

9 interview, questionnaire, or other screening in10 strument approved by the applicable adminis11 trative entity that is designed to be used to de12 termine whether an individual has a high risk 

13 of abuse of a controlled substance. 

14 ‘‘(8) OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.—This sub15 section may not be construed to affect the applica16 bility of any provision of section 576 or 577 of the 

17 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 

18 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661, 13662) or of sections 6(l), 

19 8(o)(7), or 16(f) of the United States Housing Act 

20 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n(f)), except that the Sec21 retary of Housing and Urban Development shall en22 sure that any standards or lease provisions estab23 lished pursuant to such sections are consistent with 

24 this subsection.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

3 calendar month that begins after the 240-day period that 

4 begins with the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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