Federal Health Care Benefits to be tested for drugs. For our first 45 minutes, talk about the details of the case. We want to gain your thoughts on the topic. Heres how you can reach out to us on the phones. The numbers are on your screen. On our social media channel, you can reach us on twitter, facebook, or email. As far as the polling, we posted a question must night. There is responded this morning. For those taking it, 75 say that yes, people should be tested. No,t 594 people said welfare recipients should not be drug tested. You can leave comments and participate in the polls if you want. Join the conversation there. Make your thoughts known on twitter. If you want to give your thoughts and comments on the phone, please use the numbers provided. A little bit about this case. The decision was made on new years eve. Here is the reuters writeup grid the judge struck down the law requiring Drug Screening for welfare recipients. He says it by leaps it be constitutional protections. Rick scott campaigned on a promise to expand this and said he would appeal. The law requires parents to undergo testing and apply for assistance. Federal programs help to support people with children and pay for shelter. To 45ting fee of 25 must be repaid by the states if the test comes back negative. They will be barred from receiving benefits for a year. The numbers are on your screen if you want to make your thoughts known. There are other states looking at the decision as well. Should welfare recipients the drug tested . Jeff from hawaii is up on the independent line. Can solve aink we lot of problems. People can get professional help. By all means. Host as far as the decision by florida, what do you think about those matters . Host caller i do not think it is unreasonable. They are asking for help. Sometimes they do not know what that is. If it will help them feel better, that is a blessing. Host here is brian from columbus, ohio. Republican. I think they should be drug tested. They get pay raises for every kid that they have. They get more and more money. Im getting tired of 10 kid households. They do not need my house help her it they do not need my help. See more thano that. Host we will hear from terry next. Hagerstown, maryland. Caller good morning. My comment is short and sweet. I had to pass a drug test to secure employment that pays me. I do not see why the people getting the benefits should not also have to pass a drug test. Host do you know how your state deals with the issue . Caller i live in a liberal mecca of maryland. Martin omalley is running for president. He just wants to get as many people signed up on a handout to give the government that is a typical platform for democrats. I do not think theyre held accountable. Thank you. Host from the story that was from reuters, it says that rick scott and other supporters argued that welfare recipients need to be drug free to prepare them for jobs. They say the businesses had required set chest for years. For years. Such tests is saying that we should have a zerotolerance policy for illegal drug use and families. Especially families that struggle to make ends meet and need assistance to provide for their children. Here is sam. St. Paul, minnesota. Independent line. Caller i am willing to bet that the majority of people who call up and say that they should be tested are republicans. I am not a republican. These are the people that yell the most about enforcing the constitution. I am a former constitutional lawyer. I am not in favor of criminals. I have been a victim of criminal behavior myself. I have reason not to be in favor of criminals. The idea that the government will search people with no basis for criminal activity that is what they are doing. The government is not the same as private industry. There is no right to push privacy. That is exactly what we just found out about the nsa. There are no secrets. People have a right to privacy. If and when they need to go to work, they need to let the employers do it. If theres a law saying that thatfound drugs, i think they should consider their privileges. As a condition, who do we think that we are . Who are we to make that decision . For all of the people who cry about the constitution, take it out and read it sometime. Try to understand it. It says we have a right to privacy. Host bob from mount pleasant, michigan. Democrat line. Caller i agree with the caller. This is absurd. It is because they are poor. It makes no sense. Why dont they drug test college kids who get scholarships . Absolutely not. They only do that because people are poor. It is policy when you Start Talking about testing people for drugs. It is a stereotype that if youre on welfare, your black. It is ok to test them. We know that those laws are racist. The fact is that we have many blacks who are arrested for marijuana while whites walk free. It is a racist law. Rick scott is a racist. This is absolutely absurd. Host what do you think about the argument that the caller made that he was making the analogy that if you go for a job interview, you might be drug tested as well. Caller i agree with the attorney who just spoke. That is private enterprise. I dont think they should do it either, but the fact is that that is private enterprise. The government should not be searching people illegally. Host california is on the republican line. Heres tom. Caller i just want to say, as a republican, i think that this is a really disgraceful action. The federal judge was totally right to overturn what florida did. This is a public detriment. Patriotism is being called into question. You cannot exclude american citizens from public welfare. They are entitled to those benefits. They are a citizen of this country. It is called patriotism. The idea that you can say they drugs,r or they are on us we have to test them and exclude them from the rightful claim to benefits is outrageous. It is disgraceful. I cannot believe you got this far. I applaud the federal judge. They put out a response on when the decision was made on tuesday. They said that they affirm that the Fourth Amendment protects everyone. The Florida Justice Institute says the requiring drug testing is a slippery slope. A line must be drawn, and the court did so today. Bill, you are up next. Rhode island on the independent line. Caller good morning. I believe that they should be tested. I also believe that anybody who is paid to taxpayers money should be tested too. Officers, they should all be tested. Host as far as the recipients themselves, why should they be tested . Caller they are receiving taxpayer money. Wholieve that anybody receives that should be tested. Host what about the argument you heard from a previous caller as far as violation of perything riotously rivacy . Caller it is likely for job. If you go for a job, you are tested. If you get money, you should be tested. Host that is built from rhode island. You may be joining us. There was a case in florida just before new years eve. It was on new years day. Theyre looking at a law requiring those applying for welfare assistance to be drug tested. Other states are looking at it as well. We asked the question of you about welfare benefits. Should those recipients be drug tested . You have heard a sampling, but you can contribute as well. There are the phone lines. You can also use twitter or facebook. You can participate in polls or leave your comments as well. Here is staten island, new york. Democratic line. Say, why just want to dont we test these politicians who were making these policies . They should be the ones being tested. This is outrageous. You want to waste money paying these corporations to drug test people who have no suspicion of drug use. Somebody has fallen upon hard times. Does that mean that they have to be unreasonably searched . Like they are using drugs . We should drug test the congress and the Florida State legislature. Lets see how many positive test suite can get with these bodies. That is all i have to say. Host sally from florida. Republican mine. Caller good morning. I would just like to say that i think that everybody on welfare should be drug tested. This is their form of employment. If they think that they should should look at the babies who are born from crack mothers. I have a friend who is a nurse. She sees these crack babies come in. Ifse mothers are tested they could not get welfare, they might get a job. They make it on birth control. These crack babies are really struggling. Anybody who thinks that this is a racial issue, is really mistaken. Just blacks are not on welfare. Definitely, there should be drug testing. Tank you very much. Host taking a look at the nsa spying program. The Chicago Tribune says that there is a change in the program. Obama is preparing intelligence reform based on the recommendations that examine u. S. Security programs. Ae area of debate includes proposal to require a federal judge to approve each National Security letter. These are used to secretly compel private customer records by internet providers and other groups. A similar story in the los angeles times. The intelligent system may be reformed. They say that mr. Obama has not made his own position clear. Each time the government seeks thirdparty record, there has been pushed back. Some Top White House advisers say there is concern that this is more cumbersome to investigate terrorists. Katrina is calling from california. Thank you for calling. Caller hello. Good morning. I do not think any adult should be drug tested. Theys they are in rehab or are parents with children under 18. It is outrageous. These people call up and talk about welfare like it is a billion heirs salary billionarires salary. People who were cap to get drug tested. What you do on your day off is your own business. I do not think that people realize that you have to urinate for the government. I would nominate Speaker Boehner to do the drug testing himself. Page reflectsbook ace light edging for people who think that welfare recipients should be drug tested. 681 people say yes, 602 people say no. Wanda is calling from michigan. Democratic line. Caller hello. I agree with most of the people who are saying that welfare people should not be tested. If youre going to test welfare people, you need to test the government. Host why not specifically test them . Caller why do you have to test some . You have no right to test them. Theyre getting welfare money, tax money, from the president on down. Theyre getting money from the government too. Lets start at the top instead of the bottom. Host mike from ohio. Republican mine. Caller i agree that they should be tested. I support the constitutional lawyer. You should look back and see what is going on. Look for drivers licenses. I am required by the government to take a drug test randomly. Ialso not only that have to renew my license and be fingerprinted by the f ei fbi to haul hazardous materials. I have driven a truck for 30 years. I have to do this every four years and pay for it myself. The government is getting out of control in a lot of respects. People getting so much free money, they should be tested. Host what about the argument that you made about this being a constitutional issue . You do that willingly as the desire to get a job. Caller it is not that i have to do it willingly. The employer makes a choice. If the government mandates that, then the employer doesnt. That is the difference. Host this is the front page of the Washington Post. Taking a look at falluja. The fighting in iraq. An Al Qaeda Group has seized falluja. The battle for iraqi city in 2004, militants linked to terrorist Network Enter towns. The is the front page of Washington Post this morning. Theres also a follow up taking a look at some of the politics behind in the los angeles times. It hinders al qaeda fights. They write that the Iraqi Government has rushed to reinforce the region. More than 8000 iraqis died in fighting last year. It is the bloodiest year since 2008. Haltedernment recently u. S. Surveillance by unarmstrongs. In the last paragraph, some current and former u. S. Officials say they believe that the white house is still weighing how deeply it wants to be involved. Here is margaret. Gastonia, North Carolina. Caller hello. I think that they should be tested. If you are not host go ahead. Caller unless you are dealing with recipients from the ground up, you do not understand what they are doing with their money. I have dealt with them from the ground up. Retired, ibefore i saw them get their money. They were broke tomorrow. I think they should be tested. I was tested to keep my job. They should be tested. A lot of them use their money to get drugs. They should be. Host ivan from hixson, tennessee. Democratic line. Caller i do not think anybody should be tested. If you listen to what these people are saying, you can listen to rachel maddow. Arepeople down in the south the ones trying to get this law through. Everybody knows down there in the south is a welfare state. Those people down there in the south, like people say, they vote against their interests. Theyre just crazy. It is crazy in the cell. These people down here hate anybody that is not white. Thank you. Host in the business section of the wall street journal, a story about lenders. Especially big banks. The lenders keep on growing. They write that the Banking Units of specific banks, including j. P. Morgan chase and bank of america and wells fargo held 6. 46 trillion in assets. That is according to a report from thursday. The Banking Industry is comprised of midsized, regional, and smaller players. They have 8. 15 trillion. That is in the wall street journal. Mike in orange city, florida. Republican mine. Caller hello. I believe that they should be tested. I am a firefighter working for nasa. They make us drug test. We keep our jobs. If you want to have your handout, you should be drug tested. Host how has this played out in florida . That is where this was first heard. How has it played out there . Caller you hear everybody crying about it. They are to make a racial thing. It always comes down to being a racial thing. Theyre trying to go after the right things. To me, if you have your handout, and you want to take free money, then you should be drug tested. Host some people have made it a constitutional thing. Caller i dont see how they can make a constitutional thing. I got a drug test to keep my job. You want to take money from the government. I work for the government. I had a drug test. I think all politicians should be drug tested too. They work for the government and they want to make laws. People on welfare should be drug tested. Host here is grace from long beach, new york. Independent mind. Caller hello. My thing is i have a thyroid condition. Once a month, i have to be tested. 200. Ts if you do it for all of these people, lets say half of them are not on anything. That is money wasted. You still have a congressman who was on drugs. Nothing was done. He is still there. Not everybody on welfare is on drugs. People need to realize that. If you do not want to help your brother, do not help them. Do not make up excuses. Host abortion is the topic on the New York Times. Taking a look at access on the state level. Eric is writing that on monday, there will be a clash that will reach the Supreme Court. New orleans will hear an argument on a texas requirement that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at local hospitals. That cost one third of the Abortion Clinic in the state to close. The director of the center for gender law at columbia says we are at a turning point. Abortion will be dramatically restricted or pushback will begin. Appeal forwide antiabortion groups. Twila of kentucky. Democratic line. Caller i believe that they should be tested. Everybody should be tested. From my congressman and senator, i live in kentucky. I have a state that has been a part of a state that is not very racially diverse. The majority of people that are here on welfare are white. The laws will affect them. They should be tested. Host why test the recipient . Caller why . I work. I am tested. I think everyone should. They are asking for help from the government. I have a brother in the military. He has to be drug tested. Why shouldnt these people who were taxing our government . My niece is married to a drug addict. She was on welfare. A is buying drugs with welfare check and the kids do without. And also raises the question, what happens to these children when the parents get drugs . Does the government step in and remove the children from the home . It is the big question. It is a very tough one. Host the wall street journal takes a look at statements made by ben bernanke. The last speech that he gives before leaving the federal reserve. You may have seen a little bit this morning. Says that hetory steps down from the central bank at the end of the month, and presented a cautiously optimistic outlook for growth. They have curbed growth in recent years. That drive will diminish this here. Heres a little bit more of the statement from yesterdays speech. Caller the encouraging news is that the headwinds may now be abating. Nearterm fiscal policy remains restrictive. The degree of restraint on Economic Growth seems likely to lessen somewhat in 2014. Even more so in 2015. Meanwhile, the budgetary situation has improved. The aftereffects of the housing bust also appear to have waned. Notwithstanding the effects of higher mortgage rates, housing prices have rebounded. One consequence is the number of homer homeowners underwater mortgages have dropped. Household Balance Sheet have strengthened considerably. Wealth and income is rising. Result, lending standards to households are showing signs of easing. We still face impediments. Businesses, especially larger ones, are also in good shape. The combination of financial healing and greater pal balance, less fiscal restraint, and continued monitoring, bodes well for Economic Growth. See the you want to whole speech, go to our website. Type in the ben bernanke in the video library. You can see the speech in its entirety. The Robert Wood Foundation did a study back in 2007 that took a look at Substance Abuse and welfare. They put some highlights of their key findings together. Back then, they found that 20 of recipients reported having used illicit drugs once in the last ye