BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester, is expected to call together Republican members of Congress in September to decide whether they should push legislation to implement mandatory drug testing for members of the House and their staffs.
Such a proposal, being advocated by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, has the support of most Tristate members, with others saying they could support it if they had questions answered first.
A spokesman for one of the major federal employee unions said that such tests on other federal employees have proven ineffective and that Congress should avoid them.
According to a report in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Mr. Barton was upset that Mr. Boehner, chairman of the House Republican Conference, did not get GOP members together to discuss the idea before they left Friday for their monthlong summer break.
Mr. Barton has circulated a petition that has acquired the necessary 50 signatures to require that the issue be addressed in the House Republican Conference, which is essentially the caucus of GOP members.
But the offices of both Mr. Boehner and Mr. Barton played down reports of any possible rift between them.
Mr. Boehner's office said there wasn't enough time last week for House GOP members to deal with the issue. Mr. Boehner is not opposed to bringing it before them next month, said his press aide, Dave Schnittger.
House Republicans will have to decide what kind of priority they want to put on passing such legislation this year, relative to other items, the Boehner aide added.
"The only caveat is that it's going to be competing for time with what are clearly our top legislative priorities -- cutting taxes, protecting the budget surplus and protecting Social Security," Mr. Schnittger said. "We want to do everything we can to give ourselves the best opportunity for success on those three priorities."
House GOP divided
House Republicans are reportedly divided over the issue, with some expressing constitutional and privacy concerns but others saying it is the kind of example that a supposedly anti-drug Congress should be setting for others.
Mr. Barton contends the reasons for testing members and their staff are many, including their handling of classified information, their voting on important issues and the fact that many of their constituents face such testing in their workplaces.
"As leaders elected from around the country, members of Congress should step up to the plate, show that they are drug-free, and be willing and living examples that drug use is dangerous and wrong," he said in a statement.
Spokesmen for Reps. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park; Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, and Jim Bunning, R-Southgate, said those members would vote for the Barton bill if it came to the floor.
Mr. Boehner would have to examine it first but has in the past shown support for drug testing members.
When a voluntary program for House members was tried two years ago, "Boehner was the first member to walk through the door and take the test," his aide said.
Reps. Lee Hamilton, D-Nashville, Ind.; and Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, said they would have to have concerns resolved before they voted for it.
They questioned what the safeguards would be to protect privacy and deal with false positive results. Mr. Hamilton also wondered how much it would cost.
Mr. Strickland further said he would he would want a system "totally protected from political manipulation" and would not trust a testing program administered by the House Republican leadership. "For someone to be accused in this manner if they were innocent would have absolutely devastating consequences for their political careers," Mr. Strickland said.
Mr. Hamilton said he has not had a staff member with a drug problem during his 34 years in Congress.
Robert M. Tobias, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, a major federal employees union, said such tests on other federal employees have proven a waste of time.
"It's a very, very small number of positive tests," he said. "It's proven to be ineffective and extremely expensive." "For someone to be accused in this manner if they were innocent would have absolutely devastating consequences for their political careers.' -- Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville
