Hank Johnson: “Those are the issues that the American people certainly would be interested in knowing, what is happening with their…”

“Those are the issues that the American people certainly would be interested in knowing, what is happening with their property. But instead of creating a jobs bill, what we are dealing with here is a measure that would repeal a Department of Labor rule that limits which unemployment compensation applicants can be tested for drugs. Supporters of this resolution are suggesting that there is a nexus between losing your job and being unemployed and illicit drug abuse. However, there is no evidence that suggests higher drug use among unemployed workers compared to the general population; though I will concede that it has been a time-honored tradition that when you lose your job, you go down to the local bar and drown in a glass of beer. But nobody is talking about disabusing alcohol abuse with this legislation--no alcohol testing, just drug testing. Why? It is because they want to get at a certain group of people who they want to deprive of the ability to receive the unemployment compensation that they have paid in and earned. It is penny-wise and pound-foolish to take away the financial security for people who have the least. That is the only thing they have, and you are going to take it away from them and make them pay for the drug test, too. It is ridiculous. We should be considering legislation that would create jobs and address economic disparities, but instead, we are looking to roll back provisions that undergird the financial security of the most vulnerable among us.…”