About the resolution
One of the most controversial bills in this Congress split the two parties so much that the Senate vote produced no Republicans opposed and no Democrats in favor. And it could potentially kick a large number of people around the country off of unemployment insurance or food stamps.
The context and what the law does
Existing federal law barred states from drug testing anybody claiming food stamps as a means of screening those people out. A 1960s Democrat-led Department of Labor ruling similarly banned states from drug testing those claiming unemployment insurance until 2012.
Then, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 — passed by a Republican House compromising with President Obama — allowed states to drug test unemployment claimants under specific narrow circumstances. At least …
Sponsor and status
115th Congress (2017–2019)
Provisions of this resolution were incorporated into other resolutions which were enacted.
This resolution was enacted as:
1 Cosponsor (1 Republican)
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“Western Caucus Members Praise President Trumps Energy Independence Executive Order”
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Rep. Tom Emmer [R-MN6]
on Mar 28, 2017
“Rep. Ratcliffe praises Trump administration for shielding Americans from Obamas harmful energy regulations”
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Rep. John Ratcliffe [R-TX4, 2015-2020]
on Mar 31, 2017
“Rep. Hice, Western Caucus Members Praise President Trump’s Energy Independence Executive Order”
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Rep. Jody Hice [R-GA10, 2015-2022]
on Mar 28, 2017
History
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Feb 15, 2017
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Identical Bill —
Passed House (Senate next)
This activity took place on a related bill, H.J.Res. 42 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on S.J.Res. 23 (115th). |
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Feb 16, 2017
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Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
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Mar 14, 2017
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Identical Bill —
Passed Senate
This activity took place on a related bill, H.J.Res. 42 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on S.J.Res. 23 (115th). |
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Mar 31, 2017
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Identical Bill —
Enacted — Signed by the President
This activity took place on a related bill, H.J.Res. 42 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on S.J.Res. 23 (115th). |
S.J.Res. 23 (115th) was a joint resolution in the United States Congress.
A joint resolution is often used in the same manner as a bill. If passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and signed by the President, it becomes a law. Joint resolutions are also used to propose amendments to the Constitution.
Resolutions numbers restart every two years. That means there are other resolutions with the number S.J.Res. 23. This is the one from the 115th Congress.
This joint resolution was introduced in the 115th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 3, 2019. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
How to cite this information.
We recommend the following MLA-formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work:
“S.J.Res. 23 — 115th Congress: A joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to drug ….” www.GovTrack.us. 2017. September 23, 2023 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/sjres23>
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Where is this information from?
GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.
