Thursday, October 6, 2016

Scott Walker Loses Again

By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker takes another blow. Scott Walker, on his punish the poor tour, and one of the few campaign promises that he kept was to drug test the poor before they were allowed to get their SNAP benefits.  
 On Monday, many Wisconsin residents who apply for food stamps, unemployment benefits, jobs training, or benefits and training from a handful of other state programs will have to be screened and potentially tested for drug use.Applicants will have to fill out a questionnaire about drug use, and depending on their answers, may have to submit to an actual test. Those who test positive will be referred to a state-funded treatment program.
More consistently in Wisconsin, another of Scott Walker and the Republicans major initiatives was struck down by a federal judge

WASHINGTON ― A federal court has stymied the state of Wisconsin’s effort to drug test food stamp applicants.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) championed the drug test policy as he launched a doomed presidential bid in 2015. The Obama administration said federal lawdoesn’t allow states to drug test food stamp recipients, so the Walker administration asked a federal court to decide.
Federal Judge Charles Clevert said Wisconsin filed its complaint too soon, arguing it hadn’t actually implemented the drug testing policy and given the Obama administration a chance to reject it formally.
“It is unclear how Wisconsin will implement the drug-testing program and what, if any, additional issues may or may not arise from it,” Clevert wrote in his Sept. 28 decision.
The Walker administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A regional office for the Department of Agriculture, which is the federal agency that oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, declined to comment.
In response to the lawsuit last year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told HuffPostthat Walker didn’t understand federal law.
“It’s always a good idea before you start litigation to understand what the law is,” Vilsack said then. 

One last point, a major initiative of our Governor's gets shot down in Federal Court that effects thousands of Wisconsinites, did not warrant a mention yet on JSonline.com or Madison.com.

1 comment:

  1. Anyone have a tally of how much Wisconsin taxpayers have been forced to pay in legal fees for walker's continuing harrassment?

    ReplyDelete