GOP Congressman Wants To Drug Test Congress Every Term

UNITED STATES - DECEMBER 15: Rep.-elect Clay Higgins, R-La., is photographed inside the RNC, December 15, 2016. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) introduced a resolution on Thursday that would force every member of Congress to be drug tested once a term.

“Elected officials in Washington D.C. should be subject to the same kind of random drug screenings that blue-collar, working-class Americans have to endure,” Higgins said in a statement. “Congress shouldn’t get to live by a different set of rules. This effort is about maintaining accountability and ensuring sober service to We, the People.”

According to a Roll Call report, Higgins has cracked jokes about the idea. “I have observed some behavior that would cause one to wonder,” he said.

But despite the moment of levity and some observers calling the resolution a stunt, the former captain in the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office is dead serious, proposing that any member of congress who fails be reported to the Committee on Ethics.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for hychka hychka says:

    Should be every 30 days or whenever they get their check.

  2. Avatar for erik_t erik_t says:

    Good news, Dana, “works for Vladimir Putin” isn’t technically a drug.

  3. Now if only they would impose a work requirement in order for them to receive their paychecks, we might see some actual work getting done.

  4. I’m not against this. Don’t get me wrong, I think drug testing is a huge invasion of privacy (and waste of money) that exists almost entirely hang over the heads of working class people and keep them in line. However, forcing congress to go through the same hassle would be sweet. The fact that a significant number of members would fail would also be pretty sweet. It might just move Congress to outlaw random drug testing.

    Won’t happen. Nice to think about.

  5. the former captain in the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office

    I think it would be really cool if all the Democrats in Congress agreed, but only on the condition that Clay Higgins submit to DNA testing to determine if he or his parents were the product of either incest, or illegal carnal knowledge of farm animals.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

59 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for fgs Avatar for butlerknights Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for trnc Avatar for hychka Avatar for dont Avatar for slagathor Avatar for christianhankel Avatar for borisjimbo Avatar for ignoreland Avatar for esva Avatar for tao Avatar for hjs62 Avatar for established_1781 Avatar for tsp Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for canyoncountry Avatar for uneducated Avatar for coimmigrant Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for eisenst Avatar for kenga Avatar for rascal_crone

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: