Trump considering drug testing plan for food stamp recipients: report

The Trump administration is considering letting states require some food stamp recipients be drug tested in order to receive their benefits, The Associated Press reported.

The plan would be narrowly targeted and affect mostly those that are “able-bodied,” according to an anonymous administration official that spoke with the AP.

It would apply to about 5 percent of people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to the source.

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Along with able-bodied people, the source said the proposal would target people without dependents who are seeking certain specialized jobs, the AP reported.

Mandatory drug testing for people in SNAP has been a conservative idea for some time and its implementation would signal that the administration is pushing to give states more freedom on how it implements federal welfare programs for the poor.

Federal law currently prevents states from implementing their own conditions for people to be eligible to receive food assistance.

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order calling for federal agencies to establish or strengthen existing work requirements for certain individuals who benefit from federal welfare programs.

The White House issued a memo that argued those who rely on welfare would have an easier time achieving economic mobility through strengthened work requirements where they already exist and the creation of new ones where applicable.