Ellington

Gov. Phil Bryant is willing to take a drug test.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Bryant said people who receive state assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program should be tested regularly for drug use. When an AP reporter asked whether Bryant would support drug testing of corporate welfare recipients or public officials, the governor responded:

"If I was receiving any federal or state benefits to help raise my family, I'd be glad to take a drug test. I think that would be something that would be acceptable to me if I was receiving tax benefits. I work hard for my money. The federal government or the state government has a right, I think, to merely ask people who are receiving benefits through TANF to submit to a drug test so that we can identify if you're abusing a substance and then how we go about treating you for that."


Bryant has spent most of his career as a public-sector employee—as a Hinds County sheriff's deputy and later as state treasurer, lieutenant governor and, now, governor. He and his wife, Deborah, have raised two children, Katie and Patrick. As governor, state taxpayers pay Phil Bryant's annual salary of $122,160 as well as expenses associated with his family's residence in the Governor's Mansion.

Like Bryant, federal law requires TANF recipients to work for their benefits. Information from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that in order for states to comply with federal rules, 50 percent of families receiving TANF assistance must be engaged in a "work activity" for at least 30 hours per week; 20 hours a week for single parents with young children. In addition, states must require 90 percent of two-parent families to work approximately 35 hours per week.

Bryant's office oversees the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which administers the TANF and is responsible for ensuring the state's program complies with federal law.

A schedule for Bryant's drug test has not been made public.